Danté's Dark Side
by Silvolf
Summary: Néo, Avista and the original Mewtwo fight it out against Giovanni's latest evil creation, Danté.


Danté's Dark Side  
  
Mewtwo yawned. It was Néo Mewtwo's tireless energy that was bugging him. Where ever he went, Néo was always there challenging him. Néo just wasn't able to except the fact that Mewtwo was stronger than him. Apart from Mewtwo, Néo was the most powerful Mewtwo, much more powerful than the scatterbrained Avista, who kept forgetting she had powers and using her mace instead. She also had a fixation with Dr Pepper and chocolate. Chocolate she craved and Dr Pepper sent her hyper.  
  
Mewtwo stretched out his powerfully muscled body in the warm sun, still ignoring Néo.  
  
"C'm on! I'll give ya another round! Oh, pleeeeeeease!" yelled Néo, wizzing around in the air and diving at Mewtwo.  
  
"I said..NO!!!" snapped Mewtwo, his eyes glowing bright blue as he released a huge psychic that sent Néo flying through the air. He crashed into the wall of the small house the three shared. Avista popped her head out of the door to see what was going on. She had chocolate all round her face. Mewtwo rolled his eyes. He thought back to when they'd first met.  
  
It had been a year since the incident on New Island. A year had passed since Ash's death and the Pokémon tears. Mewtwo sat on the cliff edge, looking out to sea. His Pokémon clones he'd released. He had no idea where they were now. Suddenly, something caught his eye. A red and purple flash. Mewtwo pricked his ears up. Now this was interesting.  
  
He flew down to where he'd seen the flash of colour and looked around. He saw nothing and was about to turn back when he heard something. A faint sobbing coming from behind one of the large trees in the dense forest that surrounded the cliff Mewtwo lived in.  
  
Mewtwo silently padded over to where the sound was coming from and peered round the tree. There was a Mewtwo, just like him, except it's belly and tail were red and it's eyes were blue. Even more extraordinary was that this Mewtwo was a female. Mewtwo looked down at it.  
  
~Hmmm~ he thought silently to himself. ~A female Mewtwo and I thought I was the only Mewtwo in existence. Giovanni must've cloned another, trying to control it. Should I leave her? No. She may have valuable information about that creep. I will take her back to my cave~  
  
If it hadn't been for the fact this Mewtwo had information about Giovanni's latest evil scheme, Mewtwo would definitely have left the Mewtwo there. Mewtwos must be strong and fend for themselves. They rarely help each other unless it is a matter of life and death.  
  
Mewtwo stepped in front of the female Mewtwo. At first, she didn't notice him, she was so lost in her crying and shivering. He put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped violently. "Stay away! I'm warning you! Don't come any closer!" she screamed, then she collapsed out of exhaustion.  
  
Avista woke up in a dark place. She couldn't see anything, but she could sense something. A great power like none she'd ever felt before. It engulfed her mind and soul, but somehow made her feel safe.  
  
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw the source of the power. Mewtwo. He sat on his haunches, watching her intently. He'd never seen another of his kind before and she fascinated him.  
  
"Who.who are you?" asked Avista, cautiously. She was wrapped in a blanket on a plinth of rock in the back of the cavern. Mewtwo smiled. Well, it was more of a smirk, seeing as Mewtwos are better at doing smirks. But he tried to make it seem as warm and friendly as possible. It came out rather wrong in the half light, however and seemed to Avista, more like an evil snarly smirky sort of thing.  
  
"What happened to you?" asked Mewtwo. He wanted to get the information out of her as quickly as possible, so he could send her on her way. He wasn't used to having another share his cave.  
  
These humans.er, scientists" she said, pronouncing the word "scientists" with some difficulty. "They were after me. Their boss, Gio.gio.geodude! No, that's not it." she shook her head, trying to remember. It suddenly came to her. "Giovanni! A wretched human, always wanting more power. I should have killed him, not the scientists. I should have." suddenly, she burst into tears again and threw her arms run a rather surprised Mewtwo, sobbing.  
  
Mewtwo sat there, not knowing what to do, only knowing he wanted to get her off him. She was invading his personal space and he wasn't used to it. Still, he couldn't scare her, by attacking her and besides, she may still have more information about Giovanni. So he just sat there while she cried.  
  
At last, she stopped a little and looked up at him. She stared deep into his eyes, as if trying to read his mind. Mewtwo stared back, still stunned at her sudden outburst.  
  
"You're like me", she said. Mewtwo said nothing. "I heard the scientists at Bio Engineering Research corp. talk of you. You destroyed the lab on Cinnabar. You were the original."  
  
"Bio Engineering Research corp.?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"Yes, Giovanni is the head of that now. The scientists all work for him. They're trying to engineer a creature to defeat you so Giovanni can re- capture you. I over heard them talking that once he's caught you again, he'll plant a device in your body called a psychic suppresser. Then he'll be able to control how much power you can release." Avista stopped talking as she saw Mewtwo's face. He was snarling in rage and his eyes were turning slowly blue.  
  
"If it's the last thing I do, I'll destroy that filthy human!" he growled. Avista let go of him and moved back in fear. She wasn't to know he wouldn't strike her in his rage, so she kept back. Mewtwo calmed down a little. "Go on." He said quietly.  
  
"Well, I heard the scientists were working on a brain washing device to use on you."  
  
"So, he wants to make me his slave, just so he can gain control over all rare Pokémon, humans and ultimately, the world" interrupted Mewtwo angrily. "How did you escape?"  
  
"I didn't. They were training me and realised my powers weren't that strong" Avista blushed, "and I kept forgetting to use them." Mewtwo looked puzzled.  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I kept forgetting I have powers" repeated Avista, "so they were going to destroy me. When I heard that, I ran. They followed me and I killed them. That's why I was crying. I could have simply erased their memories and sent them away with some story that they'd destroyed me to tell Giovanni, but instead I.I." she fell into tears again, curling up on the floor in helpless sobs.  
  
Mewtwo watched her. Something deep inside him told him to comfort her, but he pushed it away.  
  
"Let me get this straight, you're upset because you killed a bunch of humans who were going to kill you if they caught you? I see nothing wrong with that. They deserve to die." Avista looked at him scornfully.  
  
"No. They don't!" she snapped. "They were only doing what Giovanni told them to, not of their own choosing." Mewtwo scratched his head. For once, he had no idea what to say.  
  
"Uh, well, sorry" he forced the words out. Avista wiped her eyes.  
  
"Do you live here?" she asked him, looking around.  
  
"Yes. It is the only place where humans can't find me. With my psychic powers, I have made it invisible to all but psychic Pokémon. Humans will never find me here." He replied.  
  
"Gee, you must get pretty lonely here" murmured Avista, looking out of the cave entrance.  
  
"No, I don't, I like being on my own" said Mewtwo quickly, "so you can oblige and leave me. I'm sure you can find somewhere now the humans aren't following you any more" Avista's ears drooped and she looked sad, but tried to hide it.  
  
"Ok" she said quietly, trying to hold back more tears. Typical, the first one of her kind and possible friend she'd met and they were telling her to leave. She slowly walked out of Mewtwo's cave and headed off. Mewtwo sat watching her go, trying to fight the strange wanting inside him. The wanting for her to come back. He didn't realise that talking to someone else would be so enjoyable. In the year he'd been alone, he'd forgotten how good it was to talk with another. He still felt her psychic presence in the cave.  
  
He shook his head. ~No, I won't give in. I'm a Mewtwo, I do not need others to be with. Being alone is best. Friends are worthless. They make you soft.~ But he found himself flying after her.  
  
"Oi, you! Female!" he yelled after her. Avista turned and saw him, closed her eyes in sadness and carried on, her head down. Suddenly, she bumped into something. Looking up, she saw Mewtwo in front of her, trying to look friendly. However, she thought he was going to attack her and she flew for her life. He out-paced her easily and caught her.  
  
"Hey," he laughed as she helplessly struggled in his grasp, "I didn't mean it, you can stay if you like. Er.for a short time, anyway." Avista stopped struggling and looked up at him.  
  
"You mean, you're not going to attack me?" she asked, looking uncertain.  
  
"Why would I attack one of my own kind?" Mewtwo began to feel excitement surging through him as it finally sunk in. There could be others like him and this female. This female. He suddenly realised, he didn't know her name. Releasing her gently, he asked, "what is your name anyway?"  
  
"Avista" replied Avista. "My lab name was simply Biotikk#17, but I gave myself a proper name."  
  
"17? Is that how many clones they have made?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"I don't know" replied Avista.  
  
Suddenly, a flash of red passed by at a high speed. Avista and Mewtwo looked round and saw a bright red Mewtwo with some sort of device round its neck that held a glowing blue stone. Its face had a yellow streak up the nose and yellow blazes round its eyes. Its belly and tail were a deep purple colour, deeper than Mewtwo's and it had bright green eyes. It hovered above them.  
  
"Hey, you seem strong. Wanna fight?" it yelled at Mewtwo.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"Only the greatest, most powerful Mewtwo in the world. Néo Mewtwo, the best trained, the fastest, the strongest, the." Néo Mewtwo didn't have time to finish his boastful speech because Mewtwo had thrown a well-aimed psychic at him and hit him down. Néo got up. "Ow!" he whined, dusting himself off. Then he directed an angry glare at Mewtwo. "The only one more powerful than me is the original Mewtwo. How did you do that?"  
  
"I am the original" said Mewtwo.  
  
"Then I challenge you to a fight to the death!" yelled Néo.  
  
"If he's more powerful than you, wouldn't that be a bit silly?" asked Avista.  
  
"Oh, shut up you pathetic female. I was watching you running from those scientists like a wimp. I." but once again, he didn't have time to finish as he was hit by another powerful psychic from Mewtwo's direction.  
  
"PATHETIC IS SHE??!! PICK ON SOMEONE LIKE ME THEN!" snarled Mewtwo as Avista looked on in shock.  
  
~He's sticking up for me ?~ she thought, astounded. Mewtwo was equally surprised, it just sort of came out. He knew he didn't want to lose the first friend he'd made for the first time in a year, but he was still surprised at this sudden outburst he'd given Néo. Néo got up, for the first time feeling the power that Mewtwo was omitting. And he felt something else too. Fear. He stepped back, feeling the angry gaze of Mewtwo burning down on him.  
  
"Don't you want to see who's stronger?" he asked Mewtwo.  
  
"I don't care. Besides, I already know" replied Mewtwo.  
  
Néo looked defeated. "Fine" he said, turning away. Avista called out to him.  
  
"Where did you come from?" she asked.  
  
"Training" said Néo.  
  
"With Team Rocket?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"Are you kidding?? Team Rocket's a wreck now that the new boss is there. All they do all day is have all you can eat buffets and flaunt their money" laughed Néo. "No, I train myself. I escaped Team Rocket ages ago after Giovanni gave me to them as something to help them catch more Pokémon since most of their plans involved stupid disguises and nets. It was easy to pull the wool over their eyes".  
  
Mewtwo looked puzzled. "What happened to them, then?"  
  
"Their boss, James Morgan was originally a member. He and his team mate, Jessie, now his wife, somehow thought up a plan to get rid of Giovanni. Unfortunately, that was the last good plan they had. Team Rocket's so pathetic now, Giovanni can't be bothered to challenge James to get his place back. Instead, he's the head of the creepy Bio Engineering Research corp." explained Néo.  
  
"If you're so powerful, why did Giovanni give you to them?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"I pretended I was weak. Sure, they beat me up over it, but at least I got away. I was the first Mewtwo to be created after the creation of the original and I looked just like you in the beginning" gloated Néo, examining his smooth red skin.  
  
"How did you change?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"What is this? An interview? Enough with the questions already!" snapped Néo.  
  
"What, you'd rather I squeezed my fingers together and made your head explode?" sneered Mewtwo.  
  
"Alright, but this is the last answer, K? Because I trained all the time, my body began to change to cope with the power. I gained a new appearance, which I called a Néo, hence my name heheh! The more I heightened my power, though, the harder it was for my body to control it. There is only so much power a physical body can take and I collapsed from exhaustion. When I woke, up I was in a bed with this thing round my neck. I was about to take it off, when a voice told me not to. It turned out, a friendly Pokémon doctor had found me and made this for me to help harness, store and control my powers" said Néo looking down at his glowing stone.  
  
"What are you going to do now?" asked Avista.  
  
"Carry on training" replied Néo shortly.  
  
"How do you train?" asked Mewtwo.  
  
"Why are you two so bloody nosy??" yelled Néo, anger burning in his green eyes.  
  
"Because you're one of us!" said Avista, flying up to Néo and looking at him closely. Néo stood back and puffed himself out, trying to look bigger and more impressive. Mewtwo smirked.  
  
"I train against wild Pokémon. I can usually get through about 30 battles a day" boasted Néo looking confident.  
  
"Wow!" marvelled Avista.  
  
Mewtwo smirked. "Is that all? I can wipe out anything from 50 to 60 opponents a day." Néo's eyes nearly fell out of his head.  
  
Avista laughed. "So, what are you going to do now?" she asked Mewtwo and Néo.  
  
"Training" replied Néo.  
  
"I thought you were going to stay at my place for a while?" said Mewtwo, looking worried. ~Going so soon?~  
  
"I'm off to get revenge on Giovanni, destroy him and his lab once and for all, or at least try to convince him what he's doing is wrong" said Avista determinedly.  
  
Mewtwo thought about this. "I will join you." He said, flying up to Avista and putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Avista smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Néo looked at them for a long while, before saying, "you're gonna need someone really powerful to help you and I'm just the Mewtwo. Besides, what's the point of training, if you can't use the techniques you've learnt?" Mewtwo looked a bit miffed he wanted to join them on their quest to defeat Giovanni. But still, if he could tolerate him, it was another friend at least.  
  
Mewtwo's mind jolted back to the present as Néo's voice crashed through his thoughts.  
  
"Mewtwo attacked me!" he picked himself up and rubbed his head where it had hit the wall of their house. (Wait a sec? Mewtwos living in their own house? I hear you say. After they'd left Mewtwo's domain, Avista suggested they got somewhere to shelter them, for them to sleep and live in. So they found an old abandoned two-floor house on the edge of Delta City and moved in. Once again, to stop them being discovered and becoming a national report in the newspapers "Pokémon live in their own house", Mewtwo used his powers to cloak them, so the house appeared to be lived in by humans.)  
  
"Aww, poor you. Here, have a chocolate bar." Soothed Avista, offering Néo a chocolate bar she teleported from the fridge. Néo sniffed and accepted the chocolate.  
  
"You want one?" asked Avista to Mewtwo, who was lying stretched out on the grass.  
  
"Ok" said Mewtwo, pulling the bar towards him with his psychic powers. Avista grinned and went and sat next to him. Mewtwo raised an eye ridge as he saw Avista's face.  
  
"What?" asked Avista.  
  
"He means, * munch *, your face. * burp *" said Néo with his mouth full.  
  
~The pig~ thought Mewtwo.  
  
Avista blushed and wiped a hand across her face.  
  
The sun shone down warm and bright as the three relaxed in the back garden, charging up their powers for their first trip to the Bio Engineering Research corp. building. Apart from Avista, none of them had been there and didn't know what to expect. Even Avista wasn't sure of the security level at the lab, since she'd never paid much attention to it when she was there, only her fear. Néo settled down under a tree in the shade and laughed at Avista as she got too hot in the sun.  
  
"I'm boiling" panted Avista, "how come you don't look hot?" she asked, looking at Mewtwo.  
  
With a smirk, Mewtwo replied, "so, you haven't learnt to control your body temperature yet?" At Avista's puzzled look, he continued, "I can control my body temperature against extreme heat and cold. This means I can keep cool in the sun without having to sit in the shade." He glanced at Néo, meditating under the tree. Néo tried to ignore him. Even though he was an adept fighter, he still hadn't got the hang of the temperature control thing.  
  
"Why?" asked Avista.  
  
"Think bout it. You're in the middle of a heated battle with a fire-type, as the ultimate fighting machine, you have to keep your temperature at a regular degree, so you don't dehydrate or expire from the heat. The same applies to extreme cold. If you are really cold, you can't fight properly because all your muscles freeze up." Explained Mewtwo.  
  
"But I thought forcefields were for that sort of thing" said Avista, getting confused.  
  
"How can you use your forcefield when you're so cold or hot that you can't think?" replied Mewtwo with a steady gaze at Avista. She had a lot to learn about battles and use of psychic powers.  
  
"How do you do it then?" she asked. Mewtwo thought about the easiest way to teach her. He'd never told anyone how to use their powers before, his came to him so naturally.  
  
"Hold out your hands" he told her. Avista obeyed. Mewtwo took her hands in his and closed his eyes. He was teaching her mentally. Avista heard his voice inside her head. He was talking and yet his lips weren't moving.  
  
This scared her. Aloud, she said, "how are you talking to me? Your mouth isn't moving."  
  
Mewtwo's eyes flew open in shock and he shot up. "Don't you even know what psychic powers are??" he gasped.  
  
"Yes, you can erase human minds with them and fly and make your eyes glow blue" said Avista happily.  
  
Néo came over, amazed. "Don't you know you can also teleport, read minds, battle, talk psychically and loads of other stuff with them?" he asked her.  
  
"I ran away before my training had really begun and I was told this" replied Avista.  
  
"But it's instinctive to use them" said Mewtwo, still astounded she didn't know hardly anything about using her powers. Then he suddenly realised that Giovanni must be trying to make loyal clones that don't know they have powers and can't use them at birth. Breeding out the instinct, so they have to be taught and be used as puppets for his evil schemes. This way, they won't escape as he did and destroy all the important research work in their anger. Born helpless, having to be taught.  
  
~Like baby humans~ thought Mewtwo. "What do you know how to do?" asked Mewtwo to Avista.  
  
"Well, I know how to fly, teleport chocolate bars from the fridge, kill people." she looked away, ashamed.  
  
Néo put his arm round her. "Look on the bright side, that's another bunch of humans you won't have to worry about!" he laughed. Then he flew up to the roof of the house and lay down on his back, sunbathing.  
  
Mewtwo watched him, scornfully. ~He thinks he's the Meowth's whiskers. Some Mewtwo.~ he thought. He turned back to Avista. "The first thing you need to know is how to communicate in the mind" he told her. Avista nodded. This was one lesson she had to learn without his mental help. The easiest way to teach her, Mewtwo figured would be to talk her through it. He only hoped she'd learn that way. Still, she was a Mewtwo, so she had the ability in her somewhere. "Kneel in front of me" said Mewtwo, kneeling down.  
  
Soon, they were both kneeling, facing each other, ready to begin.  
  
"Close your eyes and think of something to say, deep in your mind" said Mewtwo.  
  
Avista shut her eyes and thought of the phrase "I like chocolate!"  
  
"Push it to the surface of your mind, and direct it at the person you want to say it to, me, that is." Continued Mewtwo. Avista tensed herself up, focusing on nothing but the phrase.  
  
"YAAAAAA!!!" screamed Mewtwo, leaping in the air in a very un-Mewtwo-like fashion.  
  
"Did I do something wrong?" asked a worried Avista.  
  
Mewtwo regained his composure and floated back down to the ground. "You don't concentrate on it that hard" he said, shaking his head. Avista looked puzzled. "You yelled it" said Mewtwo.  
  
"Sorry" said Avista, looking miserable. "I'll never learn how to do it."  
  
"You can do it" said Mewtwo, "just don't focus your whole mind on it. Imagine yourself saying it, but inside your head."  
  
"I'm sorry" said Avista again, "I didn't mean to deafen you."  
  
"It's alright" insisted Mewtwo and then in a brighter tone, he said, "I don't think I'll forget you like chocolate in a hurry!" Avista grinned.  
  
Up on the roof, Néo was getting impatient. "Are we gonna go and check this place out any time soon?" he called down. Mewtwo wondered where Néo really did come from. If he had created in the lab, he would surely remember where it was and so far, he hadn't mentioned anything about that. Mewtwo knew Néo was hiding something. Something important. It had to be, since he couldn't in any way read Néo's thoughts. Néo was blocking him.  
  
"I don't know whether it would be safe for Avista to go yet." Said Mewtwo.  
  
"Avista? What is she, your mate? If she."  
  
For the second time that day, Néo was shot down with a powerful attack from Mewtwo. He fell off the roof and crashed headfirst into a bush.  
  
Mewtwo floated in the air, his eyes glowing blue. He spoke slowly and steadily, glaring down at Néo."She is not my mate. I don't need a mate, I need no one. I choose to be with you two because I want revenge on the maggot eating scumbag who created me and put me through so much torture in my early life. If you wish to argue about this, come and argue now, but I warn you, you have no chance of winning." He lashed his tail warningly. Néo's ears fell back in fear and he crawled submissively into the house. Mewtwo landed on the ground next to Avista.  
  
"That wasn't very nice." She remarked. Mewtwo shot her a warning look and stalked off, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the lawn. Avista watched him leave and a small tear trickled down her cheek. She blinked and looked up at the sun. ~Gee, that sun's bright today.~ she thought, ~it's making my eyes water.~ She went inside the house.  
  
It was cool and dark. In the kitchen, the fridge whirred away happily and a tap dripped. Everything else was silent. She went upstairs looking for Néo. He was lying sprawled out on one of the beds. There were two beds, a double and a single. They had no sheets, just mattresses and bases. Originally, the beds had been in two different rooms, but Mewtwo moved them into the one room, which was now the sleeping quarters. He couldn't understand why humans slept in several different rooms, why not just the one? Avista quietly padded up to him and sat down beside him.  
  
"Go away" he murmured.  
  
"Mewtwo didn't mean it." Said Avista.  
  
"Yeah right." Mumbled Néo.  
  
Avista decided to cheer him up. "Come on," she said, "lets go to the labs."  
  
Néo looked up, a small smile forming on his face. "I'm ready" he said, getting up.  
  
"Come on, then. I'll show you where it is and we can spy on them!" said Avista, excitedly.  
  
Moments later, they were out of the door. Néo flew into the air and waited for Avista to follow him. Concentrating hard, she felt her body lift into the air, carried on an invisible pair of wings.  
  
"Where is it, then?" asked Néo.  
  
"The other side of the city, follow me."  
  
They flew out across Delta City, watching all the humans walking around among the skyscrapers and parks, the streets and condos. So small, they looked nothing more than ants down below. Avista fell back a bit, when the labs came into view. They were huge and there was about six of them, all clustered together, smoke steaming out of a few chimneys sticking up on the furthest ones. The others were simple, white, squareish buildings with flat roofs and lots of windows. In the centre of the whole place was a huge towering condo with a swimming pool on the roof and a small person relaxing on a lilo. The whole area was fenced off with tall wire fencing that had sharp spikes of metal on the top. About four or five armed guards stood at the huge, thick steel gates that blocked the entrance to the place.  
  
"What is it?" asked Néo, once he realised Avista had disappeared from his side.  
  
"Bad memories" she replied quietly, shaking her head.  
  
"You stay here, then. I'll go on down and take a look around" offered Néo.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Avista, worried.  
  
"Hey, I'm Néo Mewtwo, I'm always alright!" said Néo with confidence. But as he flew closer to the labs, a feeling of fear lurked deep down in him, stabbing through his body like a million knives.  
  
Mewtwo sat in a tree in a park in the heart of the city trying to cope with the mixed feelings that bothered him. He felt angry with Néo for saying something like that, but at the same time, ashamed he had lashed out at him for it. And did he know why? No. Why did he feel like this? He didn't even know why he'd lashed out like that. Was it protectiveness for Avista? No. It couldn't be. Mewtwo had lived alone all his life and the thought of having a mate had never even entered his mind. True, he was fond of her, but only as a friend and maybe a companion. They'd flown for a good few days before reaching the house the previous evening and by the time they did find it, they were so tired, they went in and collapsed in the living room on the floor. Throughout the whole journey, Mewtwo hadn't thought of Avista much and none of them had said much except a few things about their backgrounds, or, in Avista's case, why she liked chocolate and Dr Pepper. Now, Mewtwo was sitting in a tree, far away from his old home, thinking about another in ways he'd never thought before. He shook his head, trying to shake the feelings away. She was a Mewtwo, she could look after herself (even if she did keep forgetting she had powers and didn't know much about the ones she had, or what she could do with them) and she didn't need him to look out for her or protect her. With this in mind, he set out to go back to the house again. He flew into the air and turned to the direction of the house. Then stopped. Something was wrong. He could sense it. And his senses told him to head in the direction of Bio Engineering Researchers corp.  
  
At the labs, Néo had left Avista high up, out of site, but so she could still see what he was doing. He flew over the metal fence and up to a lab window and he was about to peer in, when an alarm went off.  
  
"Unauthorised intruder alert! Unauthorised intruder alert!" it blurted out. Néo had just enough time to spot something through the window, then he dashed off back to Avista before guards stormed out everywhere like bees to a honey pot.  
  
Mewtwo had arrived on the scene and watched with interest.  
  
"WHAT'RE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR?? WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE, FAST!" yelled Néo zooming off into the distance. Avista and Mewtwo hurriedly followed him.  
  
Back at the house, they flew in through the skylight and into the sleeping quarters. Néo, collapsed on a bed, panting. Not because he was particularly tired, but because he'd had such a shock when the alarm went off. Mewtwo sat beside him, waiting for him to calm down and Avista sat on the smaller bed, panting because she was out of breath.  
  
Mewtwo glanced at her. ~You still have a lot to learn~ he thought.  
  
~I'm trying my best~ thought back Avista. Mewtwo blinked. Well, she was certainly a fast learner.  
  
"What did you see?" asked Avista to Néo. Néo shook all over and looked around, fearfully.  
  
"Well??" pushed Mewtwo.  
  
"It.it was hideous" said Néo, stuttering.  
  
"What was it?" asked Avista, walking over and crouching on the bed beside him.  
  
Néo sat up and faced them."A Mewtwo. But not like any I've ever seen before." He said quietly.  
  
"So, Giovanni's created another clone" murmured Mewtwo, anger flashing in his deep, violet eyes.  
  
"Well, it had all the characteristics of a Mewtwo. But it's teeth.it's eyes.it's.claws."  
  
"Claws?" said Avista and Mewtwo in unison.  
  
"I only got a quick glimpse of it, but I could've sworn it had claws and sharp teeth. It's eyes were bright red, like it's belly. Blood red. And black. It's body was black" Avista and Mewtwo looked at him in amazement. Néo nodded and carried on. "Its appearance wasn't the most frightening thing about it though. As I got closer to the window, I felt a presence of great power and energy. Part of it was psychic, but that wasn't the strongest part. There was something else there, something evil." Avista shuddered.  
  
Mewtwo thought. ~What could this Mewtwo be?~  
  
Way across the other side of the city, something stirred. Bubbles began to rise. ~Where am I? Who am I? What is my purpose?~  
  
"To help me re-capture the most powerful Pokémon on earth and become the ruler of everything!" said a voice.  
  
"And that was really what it said when it woke up?"  
  
"Yes, it was recorded and I found the recorder among the debris of its anger, repaired it and played it" said Giovanni.  
  
"How pathetic it is! To not even know its purpose in life" smirked the other, looking at the bubbles rising in a glass of lemonade it held. It took a sip, then continued to watch Giovanni, steadily.  
  
"You will meditate for now. Tomorrow, we will commence training you to strengthen your powers further." With that, Giovanni left the room.  
  
~Yes.master~ it thought, closed it's eyes and swished it's blood red tail.  
  
"GAH!!! Why won't this flaming thing work??" yelled Néo, kicking the TV set that sat in the living room.  
  
"Because the wirey things don't" said Avista matter-of-factly, munching on a chocolate bar and studying the TV. Néo went out to the kitchen in a huff whilst Mewtwo explained to Avista the reason they didn't have TV was because the house didn't have any electricity.  
  
He returned a few moments later holding up a chocolate bar and said, "why is the only item of food in this house chocolate bars?" Avista blushed and hid behind Mewtwo. Néo groaned and teleported some proper food onto the table in the middle of the living room.  
  
The house only had a few bits of furniture in. The living room had a table, two beaten up armchairs they found on a skip and a couch with some springs missing. The kitchen had a broken fridge and a few shelves. The fridge served as a cupboard for Avista's many chocolate bars and the shelves had a couple of bottles of Dr Pepper on. The sleeping quarters just had the two beds in and all the other rooms were empty, apart from the bathroom that had a useless toilet in. It took a while for Néo to persuade Avista that going in the toilet would mean disaster because it didn't flush. She didn't really understand, but gave in to Néo's pleadings for her to go outside if she had to go anywhere. Avista finally figured this was because Néo wanted the toilet all to himself.  
  
Mewtwo looked at the food on the living room table and licked his lips. There was a pile of hamburgers, some roast chickens, a bowl of french fries two huge cakes and a variety of different soft drinks. Avista didn't waste time licking her lips, she was in it like a flash and stuffing her face. Soon, Néo and Mewtwo were too and soon, it was gone. Afterwards, they sat around deciding what to do next.  
  
"I know!" said Avista, "lets all go to the cinema!"  
  
"I don't think they admit Pokémon without trainers" said Mewtwo. They spent an hour trying to figure out what to do, but couldn't. Eventually it came to them, when Néo yawned. They'd go to bed.  
  
It was dark outside, so it must be fairly late, since it was the summer. Mewtwo headed upstairs, followed closely by Avista and Néo trailing along last, sleepily.  
  
As they passed the bathroom, Avista giggled. "Niagara Falls!!" she laughed and looked at Néo.  
  
Néo looked back at her. "What about them?" he asked.  
  
"Don't you need the toilet?" asked Avista.  
  
"Not really." Replied Néo, "why?"  
  
Avista pointed to the broken toilet in the bathroom and burst out laughing. Néo and Mewtwo looked at each other and shook their heads. ~Must be a female thing~ they thought. Avista wondered why Néo had taken so long persuading her not to use the toilet when he didn't even use it himself.  
  
Next came the fight over the beds. Néo wanted the single bed and so did Avista. Mewtwo settled down on the double bed. He didn't care where he slept.  
  
"I'm not sleeping in the same place as him!" yelled Néo.  
  
"But that bed's too big for me!" countered Avista.  
  
"No it's not, you'll be sharing it with him" said Néo and quickly leapt on the single bed, not letting Avista near. Avista swished her tail in defiance and leapt on the end of the double bed, making it bounce and nearly knocking Mewtwo off. Mewtwo yawned and closed his eyes. Néo started snoring. Mewtwo once again thought what a disgrace to Mewtwo-kind Néo was and rolled over. Avista stretched out on her stomach at the end of the bed. Then she rolled onto her back. Then she curled into a ball. Sighing she got up. The bed was just too uncomfortable. Mewtwo grunted. Avista looked around the room for somewhere else that might be more comfortable to sleep, but couldn't see anywhere, so she got back on the bed and curled up next to Mewtwo. Soon, she fell into a restless sleep.  
  
The sun streamed in through the window, falling on Mewtwo as he lay sleeping. He opened his eyes slightly and yawned. Something felt wrong. Cringing he looked down. Avista was lying on his tail and it had fallen asleep. Mewtwo had never felt pins and needles before, but he knew what they were, his instincts told him. Avista was lying stretched out on her belly, lying across his tail with her head rested on his chest. Mewtwo slowly eased his tail out from under her and tried to move her head without waking her.  
  
It was still early in the morning and he wanted some time to himself. Over on the other bed, Néo was still snoring.loudly. Avista stirred as Mewtwo moved her away. She yawned and curled up, hiding her eyes from the sunlight. She'd moved herself off Mewtwo and he quietly got up and left the room.  
  
He went downstairs and out into the fresh air, shaking himself and stretching. He glanced back at the house before flying up into the air and gliding away on the cool morning breeze. One again, he was troubled thinking about Avista and tried to forget about it by flying in endless tailspins. Trying to shake it off. The feeling of her lying on him.and the pins and needles in his tail. He'd always slept alone and it was strange to feel someone else so close to him. Agitated now, he fired a psybeam at some passing Pidgeots. Tomorrow night he decided, he would sleep outside.  
  
Meanwhile, Néo's loud snoring had woken Avista up. She yawned a little, got up and went over to him. Then she pushed him off the bed.  
  
"Yow! What the?." Néo picked himself up. "And what did you do that for?" he asked Avista.  
  
"You were snoring." Answered Avista simply.  
  
"SO?!" yelled Néo.  
  
Avista ignored him and went downstairs. She was hungry and she'd noticed the absence of Mewtwo. Stuffing a chocolate bar down whole and then drinking half a bottle of Dr Pepper without taking a breath, she went outside and proceeded to fly around in helpless cartwheels, tailspins and body flips, laughing madly. Getting hyper on Dr Pepper always helped her to wake up.  
  
Néo heard the noise she was making and looked out of the sleeping quarter window. Rolling his eyes, he went downstairs to get some breakfast. Avista fired a couple of speed star attacks, knocking down some passing Noctowls, who were on their way to bed. She laughed maniacally and dived after them.  
  
Néo called out to her just as she was about to catch one. "Hey! If you're so hyped up, why don't you battles me?" he yelled to her.  
  
Avista turned with a mad grin on her face and her eyes glowing blue. "Come on then!" yelled Néo, flying up into the air and floating, ready. Avista used a binding power attack, paralysing Néo. Néo squirmed and wriggled, but couldn't escape. Then, Avista threw a psycho crash attack at him. This is a one hit KO attack that uses the Mewtwo's powers combined with the opponent's powers against the opponent. It can only be used once during battle and should only be used as a last resort. The attack hit Néo dead on, releasing him from the paralysis of the binding power attack, but weakening him greatly. He was near fainting. As for Avista, after she'd shot the attack, she fell to the ground, out cold. Only Mewtwos of a higher stage in training can use psycho crash and Avista was not yet strong enough to control the power properly.  
  
Néo sat up panting, his skin covered in sweat. He looked over at Avista. She was unconscious.  
  
"Oh shit, I shouldn't have challenged her" he murmured and, groaning, got up and went inside to get some water to wake her up.  
  
A shadow passed over Avista's still form."What on earth." it said, flying down for a closer look. It's deep, blue skin shone in the sunlight as it gracefully swooped down, landing next to her. It leaned over her, looking into her closed eyes, it's own yellow eyes blinking in surprise. It gently licked her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened and she came to.  
  
"Are you all right?" it asked. Avista sat up, then fell back again, still weak from the attack.  
  
"Who.who are you?" she asked the blue Mewtwo as he placed an arm round her to support her.  
  
"I'm Selkirk" he replied. He was a deep blue all over with a black belly and tail and bright yellow eyes. On either arm, he had a small tattoo that resembled a pyramid split in half with a red circle in the centre. He was lean, but not so lean that his bones were visible. He grinned at her.  
  
Avista looked around. "Néo?" she said. She wondered whether she'd made him faint, but he was no where to be seen.  
  
"I thought you were alone. Is Néo your mate?" asked Selkirk.  
  
"No way!" squealed Avista, "he's my friend. I was fighting with him and I attacked him, but somehow knocked myself out instead." She wondered if she'd done a metronome by accident and done self-destruct or something.  
  
"What's you name then?" asked Selkirk.  
  
"Avista" she replied and tried to get up. "Ow!" she groaned. Selkirk looked at her with pity. She was only young and he decided he'd help her, so he closed his eyes, placed his hands on her and shared a recover move. Avista felt a feeling she'd never felt before, she felt all the pain go and a cool, relaxing feeling that calmed all her nerves and relaxed her muscles.  
  
Mewtwo, after his little mope by himself was on his way back to the house.  
  
He saw Selkirk healing Avista on the lawn and acted before he thought, by instinct. "GET AWAY FROM HER!!" he yelled, throwing a psy blast at Selkirk. A psy blast is an attack where Mewtwo focuses all his energy to one point, then releases it. Only the most powerful Mewtwos have the energy to use it repeatedly. Selkirk expertly dodged it, taking Avista with him. Mewtwo's eyes glowed so blue with anger, they turned white. Leaving Avista on the ground, Selkirk flew into the air, dodging all Mewtwos attacks. "Get out of here!" said Mewtwo in a low, threatening voice, glaring steadily at Selkirk.  
  
"Excuuuse me, but I was helping her" growled Selkirk.  
  
"He was, Mewtwo, please don't hurt him" cried Avista. Mewtwo lowered his arms from the position of the psychic ball he was about to make and flew down to Avista.  
  
"What was wrong?" asked Mewtwo to Avista. ~I knew I shouldn't have been gone so long~  
  
"I kinda went hyper on Dr Pepper and when Néo challenged me to a battle, I accepted, but ended up knocking myself out instead of him" she looked around. "I think I made him disappear" she said quietly.  
  
Just then, Néo came out of the house with a bucket of water he'd finally found. The house didn't have any water running through it either and he'd found it in a pipe, under the floor in the living room. He'd remembered to put the floor back afterwards though, which was why he'd been a bit long.  
  
"What the." began Néo, looking at Selkirk, Mewtwo and finally Avista, who'd somehow revived.  
  
"You're ok!" yelled Avista and ran up to Néo, hugging him joyfully and making him drop his bucket. Néo stood there, stunned for a moment.  
  
"Uh, yeah" he said at last, looking puzzled.  
  
"I thought I'd made you disappear" said Avista.  
  
"You made me come close to fainting, but I'm fine. Don't use that attack again, though, until you're a bit stronger. You knocked yourself out cold" said Néo, patting her on the head.  
  
"If it wasn't for Selkirk, I'd still be out cold" beamed Avista, smiling at Selkirk. Selkirk smirked.  
  
Mewtwo was puzzled though. "Where did you come from?" he asked him.  
  
"Where I live" said Selkirk, pointing.  
  
"How is it you live? I thought there was only me, then I met Avista and Néo. I know how Avista came to be, but Néo won't reveal anything to me about his past."  
  
Néo snuck into the house.  
  
"I was created in Regent Labs, Cinnabar Island" said Selkirk. "That is where all Mewtwos are created."  
  
Mewtwo thought about Giovanni, but replied, "All Mewtwos? How?"  
  
Selkirk sat down. Mewtwo and Avista did the same as he began. "In Regent Labs, they heard about the New Island scenario and asked the head scientist to send them the experiment details, so if the New Island experiments didn't work and Giovanni closed it down, the experiments could be continued at Regent Labs. The first surviving experiment went haywire and destroyed everything, so the scientists at Regent Labs continued cloning in secret. They cloned both male and female Mewtwos, all unrelated, using the DNA sample of the Mew, thus creating a new specie of Pokémon. When the Mewtwos were old enough to be released, they were released into an enclosure to see how they interacted with each other. Everything went well and now any that are cloned are released straight into the wild. I was one of the original Mewtwos cloned at Regent Labs. There was me, another male and two females. My mate however is dead now. She was shot by a Pokémon trophy hunter." A small tear ran down Selkirk's cheek as he said this. He wiped it off and continued. "The original Mewtwo was neither male, nor female. A neuter, because it was designed as the ultimate fighting machine, not for breeding. However, I did hear that it had male hormones in, so it acted and sounded like a male."  
  
"It is true" said Mewtwo.  
  
"How do you know?" asked Selkirk. "Have you met him?" his eyes shone in excitement.  
  
"I am him" said Mewtwo.  
  
"What, you're the original? The first Mewtwo ever to exist?"  
  
"Yes, that's me"  
  
"I've always wanted to meet you! Heck, I've practically spent most of my life looking for you. Well, after I lost my mate that is."  
  
"I guess you found me" said Mewtwo. They talked for a while longer.  
  
Avista got bored after a while, feeling a bit like the third wheel and went in to find Néo. Néo was sulking upstairs in an empty room. Avista went up and put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump as he'd been looking out of the window.  
  
"What's the matter?" she asked him.  
  
Néo sighed. "I've had a hectic past, that's all." he said.  
  
"Tell me?" asked Avista, looking deep into his emerald green eyes.  
  
Néo smiled a bit. "Alright" he said after a pause. At least, if he told someone he might feel a bit better. "I too came from Regent Labs, not Giovanni. I used to spy on Team Rocket as a kid, that's how I know about James taking over, but I've never even been to Bio Engineering Researchers corp. before you took me. The only problem was, when I was born, something went wrong and I was weak. No, I didn't fake it, I really was as weak as a Magikarp. I was the only one in the whole batch that went wrong. They couldn't be bothered with me and abandoned me. They just released me into the wild before I could properly fend for myself. I was the first weakling clone they created and they threw me aside like a broken toy." Néo began sobbing and Avista held him close in a warm hug. "I trained.myself. I.I fought until I wore myself out. Everyday I tried. At first, I lost all my battles.I didn't.think I'd make it. I got thinner and thinner, but I got a little stronger. I ate from garbage dumps to keep my strength up and finally I did it. Then I couldn't stop. I was so afraid it would happen again. I w.was so afraid I'd lose my strength." then he collapsed on Avista's lap, sobbing helplessly.  
  
Avista stroked his head soothingly. "It's alright. Look at you now, you're the most powerful Mewtwo they're ever likely to clone from that place. You won't lose your power." Néo looked into her eyes and gave her a watery smile.He sniffed.  
  
"Thank you." He said. Avista was always there for her friends, even if they all deserted her she'd still help them if they were in trouble. Mewtwo and Selkirk finished talking and went inside. Mewtwo showed Selkirk around the house. Selkirk didn't have a house, he was completely wild and lived out of doors. They went upstairs and found Avista and Néo.  
  
Mewtwo sneered at Néo in his usual way. "What's up with him?" he asked as if he didn't care. In reality, he did, but he didn't want to show it in front of Selkirk. After all, he had a reputation to protect.  
  
"He.er." Avista didn't want to reveal Néo's secret, so she made something up. "He's not crying, his eyes are watering because he choked on some Dr Pepper." ~Nice one!~ she thought, ~perfect excuse!~ Mewtwo looked sceptical, but accepted that excuse even though he didn't really believe it.  
  
He took Selkirk to the see the sleeping quarters.  
  
"Whoa! You got beds?! I want a bed! It'd be way more comfy than grass" exclaimed Selkirk.  
  
"It's ok," said Mewtwo with a shrug.  
  
At Bio Engineering Researchers corp., Danté was destroying opponents left right and centre. Excellent thought Giovanni, as well as having the psychic powers of Mewtwo; my creation also has the dark powers of Umbreon, the only purely dark Pokémon. He watched his creation fighting viciously with his long claws and sharp teeth and his psychic/dark powers. In order to create the dark Mewtwo, Giovanni's scientists injected a growing Mewtwo with Umbreon genes, giving him his dark skin and red eyes. The claws and teeth were a little surprise result. Danté walked casually up to Giovanni.  
  
He shut his eyes and thrashed his tail in his usual way, before saying; "All opponents defeated Master."  
  
"Good" said Giovanni, "we are ready to move on to the next stage."  
  
Back at the house, Néo, Mewtwo, Avista and Selkirk were completely oblivious to all that. They were relaxing in the garden with ice creams that Néo had teleported there. Néo laid out on an old deck chair, Avista lay on the grass and Mewtwo sat on the roof.  
  
Selkirk came and sat next to Avista. "Did you say you didn't have a mate?" he asked her.  
  
"No, I don't. Why?"  
  
"Just wondered" he winked at her and got up. "Well, I'd better be off now" Selkirk announced. Mewtwo nodded, Avista waved and Néo ignored him. He'd fallen asleep. Selkirk waved at Avista, then soared into the air. "I'll come and visit you some time!" he yelled and flew off.  
  
Mewtwo yawned. "Lets go back to the Bio corp." suggested Avista. "I want to see the black Mewtwo Néo saw."  
  
"It might not be safe and you aren't strong enough to fight as yet" said Mewtwo. Avista flew up to him and grinned.  
  
"Then train me." she said. Mewtwo looked uncertain. He couldn't really be bothered. He liked relaxing in the sun. "As you wish," sighed Avista. She flew off.  
  
Suddenly, she whizzed through the sky and pounced on Mewtwo, catching him off guard and knocking him off the roof.  
  
"Hey!" yelled Mewtwo. He flew into the air and tackled her, bringing her to the ground. They rolled around in the grass, play-fighting. Growling playfully, Mewtwo pinned Avista to the ground. "Try and escape." He said. He'd never had this much fun in his whole life. Avista wriggled around, laughing, but couldn't escape Mewtwo's hold on her. Finally, she lay perfectly still, pretending to be dead. Mewtwo moved his face close to hers and studied it for any sign of emotion. Nothing.  
  
Suddenly, Avista head butted him. Mewtwo shook his head and glared at her.  
  
His eyes glowed blue and he snarled; "You'll pay for that!" Then he nipped her ear. Avista looked surprised for a moment, then started laughing again. Mewtwo laughed too and got off her. He stood up. "I give in," he said. "I'll take you training.  
  
"Yay!" shouted Avista joyously and hugged him. Then she flew into the sky. "Where do we train then?" she asked.  
  
Mewtwo followed her. "Away from sleeping beauty down there. Come on" he said.  
  
The wild Alakazam fainted and Giovanni threw a Ball at it, capturing it. The Ball was the only Team Rocket thing he had left now, since losing the Rockets to James. The Rocket Ball, one of Team Rocket's greatest inventions. A Pokéball that allows you to capture the Pokémon after it has fainted.  
  
"Now for your final test," Giovanni said to the sleek black creature. "A battle against a wild Mewtwo." Danté grinned, showing off his sickle-like teeth and thrashed his blood red tail. Giovanni knew there were wild Mewtwos, but he didn't know how they got there. He figured someone must have been creating them in secret and releasing them, but he didn't know who, or where. He knew, however that these wild Mewtwos were not as powerful as his original. Perfect for training Danté against to prepare him for the more powerful original Mewtwo.  
  
It was true that Regent Labs had never been able to get their clones to be as powerful as the original Mewtwo, but they didn't want to anyway. They just wanted to help create a new specie of Pokémon and give them normal power to be fair. Admittedly, however, even these Mewtwos were one of the more powerful species of Pokémon.  
  
"This should be fun" growled Danté.  
  
"Ok, for the first lesson, I'll teach you how to use the most basic Mewtwo attacks. Psychic, Recover, Cure All and Psychokinesis. Psychic is the most basic attack of them all, along with Recover, that gives you more hit points if you're damaged. Recover doesn't cure you of poison, paralysis, burns, freezing or any other abnormal conditions though. That's what Cure All is for. Psychokinesis is one of my favourite attacks, it turns the opponent against themself. Really fun to watch!" smirked Mewtwo.  
  
They began training. Everything went fine until the Psychokinesis attack. Avista turned herself against herself.  
  
"Maybe we should leave that one for a while" said Mewtwo, watching Avista chewing her tail to pieces.  
  
It was getting late now, and Mewtwo was hungry. Mewtwos have gigantic appetites when they're hungry. Avista licked her sore tail. Then she yawned. Training was tiring!  
  
"Let's go home" said Mewtwo. Avista agreed and they set off home.  
  
As they flew, Mewtwo noticed something going on down below. It was a battle. Looked like a fierce one too. He hovered in the sky watching it. Down below, two creatures fought. One was blue and the other, black. The blue one looked like it was losing. Badly. Mewtwo flew down lower, curiosity getting the better of him. Avista stayed where she was, but after a bit followed him at length. Mewtwo soon saw that they were both Mewtwos. The black one he'd never seen before, but the blue one was Selkirk. A man stood, watching them.  
  
~Giovanni!~ thought Mewtwo. ~My old enemy.~  
  
Giovanni looked on as Danté beat the living daylights out of Selkirk. He gave Danté no orders, just watched as he fought. Danté advanced on Selkirk. The blue Mewtwo's sleek skin was ripped and bloodstained. He backed away, his ears hung miserably behind his head. He knew he had no chance against this evil dark Mewtwo.  
  
~Leave me~ he said telepathically. ~I've done nothing to you~  
  
Danté simply snarled, showing off his sharp teeth and carried on advancing on the hapless Mewtwo.  
  
Suddenly, a streak of purple flew past Selkirk, lunging straight at Danté. It wasn't Mewtwo, but another Mewtwo. This Mewtwo had battle scars across his tail and face and his purple markings were positioned strangely. His chest was two toned purple and though it was the normal, darker purple all over, his tail had a light purple tip.  
  
Danté raised a hand as the Mewtwo came at him, slashing him across the face. The other Mewtwo reeled back in pain, screaming in anger. It is rare for a Mewtwo to scream and it is not a pleasant sound. He clawed at his bleeding face, writhing around in agony, trying to make the pain disappear. He was far too panicked to do a recover move.  
  
Danté thrashed his tail, threw back his head and laughed. "You pathetic Mewtwos! I am far more powerful than you can imagine!"  
  
"DANTÉ!" called Giovanni. "Training is over. Teleport us back to the labs now!" Danté looked disappointed he couldn't finish Selkirk and the other Mewtwo off, but obeyed his master. In a second, they'd gone.  
  
Selkirk recovered himself. In a trice, the slashes and rips that criss- crossed his body had gone. Luckily, none of them were deep enough to leave scars. The other Mewtwo wasn't quite so lucky.  
  
He sat on the ground, pawing at his eye. Danté had slashed him right across it and it had gone milky and was bleeding.  
  
"Nightmare. Why did you help me?" asked Selkirk.  
  
"Do you realise how much danger you were in?? That thing could've killed you!" said Nightmare, wincing at the pain his eye was in.  
  
"Do you realise what recover is? It's probably too late for your eye now." Remarked Selkirk. If Nightmare had done recover immediately, he might've got the sight back in his eye. Now it was unlikely. He recovered himself. The bleeding stopped.  
  
"I can't see in it!" screamed Nightmare, panicked. His eye was still a milky white colour. He looked pretty hideous.  
  
"I hope you don't plan to get a mate any time soon," said Selkirk. Nightmare snarled at him.  
  
"Personality counts," he growled, "not looks."  
  
Mewtwo slowly descended to the ground, followed by Avista. Avista went to run up to Selkirk, but Mewtwo grabbed her tail.  
  
"Why was the black Mewtwo after you? " asked Mewtwo, still clutching Avista's tail.  
  
"I don't know, he saw me and Giovanni just let him attack me. I think it was some sort of training programme, he was doing. One thing's for sure; I hadn't got a chance in hell of defeating him. He was using dark attacks, as well as physical ones. Even though he was a Mewtwo like me, he still had a distinct advantage over me. Giovanni's created a monster." Said Selkirk.  
  
"Giovanni is a monster" murmured Nightmare. Avista grabbed hold of her tail and yanked it out of Mewtwo's hands, then she went over to Nightmare.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked him. He had his back to her and she saw the deep scar across his tail.  
  
"Your worst NIGHTMARE!!" he growled, spinning around and glaring at her. This was a thing he always did, kinda like a little trademark. Only now, he had the eye. He'd forgotten about that and with it, he looked even more intimidating and frightening. Avista squealed and ran behind Mewtwo. Mewtwo glared at Nightmare and his eyes turned blue.  
  
"What did you do that for?" he demanded.  
  
"Sorry, it's something I always do when people ask me my name. I forgot my eye was busted." Then to Avista he called, "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry." Avista was crouched on the ground behind Mewtwo, hugging her tail, shivering. Mewtwo put a hand gently on her head, making her jump violently. She stared at him and he saw the fear in her eyes.  
  
Once again, that feeling of protectiveness came over Mewtwo, but he shook it off."It's alright," he said gently, stroking her head. Avista sniffed.  
  
Nightmare got up. "I'm going to find that Mewtwo and give him a piece of my mind!" he announced.  
  
"You'll never defeat him, I wouldn't bother" said Selkirk.  
  
"But if I don't bother, it'll be nagging at me all the time. A perfect opponent is out there, a real challenge and I don't get to have a good battle with him." Nightmare flew into the air. "I'm going off to find him." He said and started to fly off.  
  
Mewtwo flew in front of him and stopped him. "Nightmare, it's going to take more than just one of us. Néo, Avista and I also want to challenge that creep and I wish to destroy Giovanni. Why don't you join us if you really must fight him. You'll have a better chance of winning."  
  
"Alright, we'll go tomorrow morning then." Said Nightmare.  
  
"No, we have to train first. I think it would be a good idea to spend tomorrow training. Avista needs it desperately and it will do us all good. Then when we're in better condition to fight, we can think about the attack."  
  
"Better condition?! I'm in perfect condition right now," said Nightmare.  
  
"So am I, but this is going to be a tough battle. If you want to fight with us, then train. If you want to fight alone and probably lose, then do as you wish." Said Mewtwo, firmly.  
  
"Alright, I will join you, but I will train myself. See you in a couple of days." Said Nightmare, a little too defiantly and flew off.  
  
Mewtwo turned to fly back to the ground and saw something that made his anger skyrocket.  
  
Avista was still crouched in the grass, but Selkirk was grooming her. And the thing that made Mewtwo seethe was the fact that she was enjoying it. She was purring like a newborn Mew. Like a bullet, Mewtwo rocketed through the air, straight at Selkirk, tackling him and throwing him across the ground. Selkirk skidded to a halt in a pile of dirt and dust. Mewtwo floated above him, menacingly. He uttered one single word in his mind.  
  
~Go!~  
  
Selkirk looked hurt for a moment, scowled at him and flew off. Mewtwo flew back to Avista, landed beside her and looked down at her, offering her his hand to help her up.  
  
She looked upset. "Why did you attack him?" she asked.  
  
Mewtwo didn't reply, but flew off into the sky, leaving her sitting in the grass, alone.  
  
She got up. ~Why did he do that?~ she thought to herself. ~He was only being friendly to me.~ She looked up at the sky in the direction Mewtwo had gone and sighed. Then she made for home.  
  
Back at home, Néo had just woken up. He stretched.  
  
"Ahh, that was a nice snooze," he said, to no one in particular. He looked around. Heck, there was no one in particular. Selkirk, Avista and Mewtwo had all disappeared.  
  
~Oh well,~ thought Néo, ~I guess that means more food for me!~ and he went indoors and teleported himself some food, then proceeded to eat it.  
  
A while later, Avista came in and slumped on the couch.  
  
"Whatsa matter with you?" asked Néo with his mouth full. Avista weighed up the facts. She'd been scared out of her skull by a hideously ugly Mewtwo and Mewtwo had attacked Selkirk for no reason that she could figure out.  
  
"Nothing," she said, finally, "just tired." Néo offered her some food and she accepted it. Then Mewtwo came in. He took one look at Avista and went straight back out again. Néo and Avista didn't see him for the rest of the evening.  
  
That night, they where in, or rather on, their beds.  
  
"I'm worried about Mewtwo. What if Danté's got him." Said Avista.  
  
"Who's Danté?" asked Néo.  
  
"He's the evil dark Mewtwo you saw at Bio corp." replied Avista.  
  
"Mewtwo'll be fine" yawned Néo, "now, go to sleep." And he turned over and fell asleep.  
  
Avista sighed. ~I hope so~ she thought.  
  
Mewtwo, after fighting with the unusual jealous feelings he kept getting towards Selkirk. Went back to the house and sat outside. If the truth was known, he was scared of the unusual feelings he had towards Avista. He'd never felt them before in his entire life and it was pretty unnerving for him. He didn't want to sleep next to Avista again. He looked up at the window of the sleeping quarters. The night was warm, but he still felt a chill. Maybe it was loneliness, maybe fear, he didn't know. Slowly, he floated up to the skylight and flew through it. He landed on the floor underneath it, walked over to the sleeping quarter room and peered round the door. Néo was on the single bed snoring as usual and Avista was curled up the double bed. Mewtwo silently stepped over to the bed and lay himself down next to her. He sighed and fell asleep.  
  
Next morning, Avista was the first to awaken. She'd been using Mewtwo as a pillow again and as she got off him, he woke up.  
  
"Avista." he said as she got up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I apologise for the way I acted yesterday."  
  
"It's alright" said Avista quietly, licked him on the cheek and went downstairs. She wasn't one to bear a grudge. Mewtwo touched his cheek and smiled. Did someone finally care about him? Néo grunted and rolled over.  
  
Up until now, Mewtwo didn't realise Mewtwos could snore, but he was getting very tired of listening to Néo's snoring. Because of it, he couldn't go back to sleep again, so he went downstairs and into the kitchen where Avista was munching a chocolate bar and drinking (you've guessed it) Dr Pepper.  
  
"Is that all you ever consume?" asked Mewtwo. Avista nodded and took a swig of Dr Pepper.  
  
Suddenly, her eyes turned bright blue and she started making erratic movements, flying around in the air. She crashed through the (closed) kitchen window and flew around madly outside.  
  
Mewtwo followed, curiously. Avista whizzed around the garden and crashed into the tree. She fell to the ground, got up and flew straight at Mewtwo, laughing maniacally. Mewtwo dodged her, but she flew round and dived at him again. Every time he dodged, she kept on coming at him, laughing in hysterics like a rabid hyena.  
  
Finally Mewtwo caught her in his psychic powers and held her in the air. She floated there, still laughing. Mewtwo now looked concerned. Why on earth was she acting like this? Then he suddenly remembered about her problem with drinking Dr Pepper and going hyper. Suddenly, she stopped laughing and hung limp in the air. Mewtwo raised an eye ridge and dropped her. She wasn't that far off the ground, but she was high enough up that the effect of hitting the ground would knock her senses back into her. It did and she sat there looking dazed. Mewtwo yawned, stretched and went indoors.  
  
Néo was up and about, eating breakfast and reading the Delta News upside down. He was sitting on the couch in the living room with an array of teleported food around him. Mewtwo grabbed a handful of cereal and stuffed it in his mouth.  
  
"Hey! Get your own food!" yelled Néo, shoving him. Mewtwo ignored him. Néo shoved him again, trying to provoke him into a battle.  
  
Mewtwo was fully aware of what he was trying to do though, that's why he ignored him.  
  
"Ok, then, I'll give you some food if you battle me for it!" said Néo, standing up.  
  
~Why?~  
  
"Because it will be good practice, I'll even let you go first."  
  
~As you wish.~  
  
Mewtwo lazily lifted his arm and lifted Néo into the air. Then he pressed his finger and thumb together and Néo screamed in agony. He felt like his skull was being crushed under an extreme weight. He felt as though his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. His skull was going to be crushed! He could feel the pressure building up. He could feel his skull cracking. The pain was too much for him even to scream now. He just floated there, held in Mewtwo's psychic aura, under his powers, his eyes tightly closed and his mouth open in one long silent scream of agony.  
  
Finally, Mewtwo released him.  
  
"You may be powerful, but your powers are nothing compared to mine." Said Mewtwo quietly. "Remember that."  
  
Néo crouched in a corner of the room, holding his head and rocking backwards and forwards, trying to ease the pain. That was the last time he ever challenged Mewtwo.  
  
Avista came in. "Sorry about that. I'm afraid I go like that quite often when I." she saw Néo and trailed off. "What happened to him?" she cried, rushing over to her friend and hugging him tightly. Néo pushed her away, as it hurt when he was moved. He lost his equilibrium and collapsed. Avista shook him, but he'd fainted. She began to panic.  
  
Mewtwo flew out of the room, but watched from the doorway.  
  
Avista wanted to help Néo, but didn't know how. Suddenly, she remembered what Selkirk had done. He'd shared a recover move with her. She now decided to do the same with Néo. Mewtwo watched as she placed her hands on Néo and closed her eyes. Her hands began to glow as she concentrated. She concentrated harder and sweat formed on her brow. Slowly, however, Néo was healing. He was also coming to.  
  
He looked at her and saw she was healing him. "Thank you" he said weakly. This made Avista lose her concentration.  
  
"Will you be ok now?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes, thank you." He replied, slowly standing. He stumbled a couple of times, but finally managed to stand properly.  
  
Mewtwo was proud of Avista. She'd learnt something new and used it in a desperate situation. He felt a tinge of jealousy, however. But at least Néo had learnt his lesson. Mewtwo had to do it to encourage Néo to respect the fact he was the dominant one, the most powerful and no one questioned his authority. He wanted to be feared and respected. Néo sometimes got too ahead of himself and did things he regretted.  
  
Right now, Néo did regret something. He regretted meeting Mewtwo, and also admitted within himself that he was stupid to challenge someone that powerful. He wished he hadn't. He now realised how terrifying Mewtwo could be. How come, then, that Mewtwo feared Danté?  
  
Danté flexed his long, sharp claws. Opposite him stood a Steelix. It belonged to one of the scientists and they were doing an experiment to find out how powerful Danté's claws were. He had claws on each finger and on each toe, too.  
  
"Iron tail!" commanded the scientist. The Steelix thrashed it's long tail across Danté, hoping to knock a good few hit points out of him. Danté extended the claws on one hand and swiped them across the Steelix's tail as it came at him. The Steelix and Danté stood, facing each other.  
  
Suddenly, the Steelix's tail split in half and the end fell off. Danté stood at the head of the arena, arms folded, sneering in triumph. The scientist and Giovanni ran up to look at the Steelix's tail. It was sliced right the way through with a clean cut.  
  
Mewtwo watched Avista and Néo in the living room, talking. The food was still scattered around and he decided to finish it off. He went in and sat on the couch. Néo wouldn't tell Avista what had happened to him, so she gave up. When he saw Mewtwo, however, he hung his tail and flew outside.  
  
"What happened to Néo? Someone attacked him." Said Avista, sitting next to Mewtwo.  
  
"I've no idea." Replied Mewtwo shortly. Avista shrugged and ate a taco.  
  
"He refused to tell me, anyway. I couldn't even read his mind." Mewtwo finished off the last bit of food.  
  
"Time to start training." He said, and got up.  
  
"Where are we going to train?" asked Avista.  
  
"Oh, I know the perfect place" said Mewtwo with a grin. They went outside. Néo was sitting miserably on an old log at the bottom of the garden. "Hey, Néo! We're going training. Come on!" yelled Mewtwo. Néo began to perk up and flew into the sky.  
  
"Where are we going?" persisted Avista.  
  
"You'll see" was the reply from Mewtwo.  
  
They flew for a while, away from Delta City, right out into the country. Mewtwo wanted to be far enough away from the city that none of their attacks hit it. He didn't really care himself about the humans in the city, but he didn't want their position given away to Giovanni. Finally, they reached a large stretch of green fields and countryside.  
  
"We'll train here." Said Mewtwo.  
  
Néo looked around, "it's a bit boring and empty here," he said.  
  
"We're here to train, not admire the views," said Mewtwo. "Let's begin."  
  
Néo yawned. "I'm off to do some training my way." He yelled and flew off. Avista floated in the air, waiting for Mewtwo to tell her to do something.  
  
"Ok, first you have to know basic attacks like Confusion, Disable, Psychic, Swift, Barrier, Amnesia, Mist and Recover. You know psychic, cure all and recover already and you've used psychokinesis, binding power and psycho crash, though not very effectively. You'll be able to use them more effectively when you've learnt your basic attacks. But you've got to learn the basics first." Explained Mewtwo.  
  
Avista looked a bit miserable. Basic attacks were boring.  
  
"We'll start with confusion. It's a simple attack that confuses your opponents so they attack themselves."  
  
Avista yawned and twirled her finger around. Mewtwo smacked himself in the face.  
  
"Ow! Hey! I never said you could attack," growled Mewtwo rubbing his nose. Avista rolled around in the air, laughing. "Well, we'll move onto disable if you can do that," said Mewtwo.  
  
"What does that do?" asked Avista.  
  
"It disables the opponent's best move," said Mewtwo, letting his defences down for her. "Just concentrate on blocking one of my attacks out, so I can't use it." Avista tensed herself so much her eyes went blue. Then she released an aura from her body that blasted into Mewtwo. Mewtwo floated there as the aura surrounded him. Then he tried an attack. It didn't work, so Avista's attack had. "Well done," said Mewtwo, cringing a bit. He wasn't used to congratulating anyone.  
  
They work their way through the basic attacks. The only one Avista had any probs with was mist. When she did it, she did too much of it and blinded them. Mewtwo couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. They ended up leaving it, because Avista couldn't control the amount properly.  
  
"Can I have a rest?" asked Avista when they'd finished the basic attacks. They'd been training for about four hours non-stop.  
  
"When you train, you have to push yourself to the max. We can't stop for another two hours yet." Said Mewtwo.  
  
"But I'm tired, how will I be able to fight properly? I've never fought for an hour before, let alone four. Please can I have a short rest, even if it's only five minutes?" pleaded Avista.  
  
"As you wish," said Mewtwo, feeling that he was going a bit soft. Avista floated down and lay in the cool grass. Mewtwo floated down and sat on a rock nearby, waiting for her to recharge her energy. They hadn't seen Néo for the whole duration of the training.  
  
A while later, Avista sat up.  
  
"I'm ready to begin again, Master." She said. Mewtwo raised an eye ridge at what she'd called him.  
  
He went and knelt next to her."Only captured Pokémon call anyone "Master", you do not have to call me that. I am not your owner."  
  
"No, but you're training me and trainers are referred to by Pokémon as "Masters". Besides, Néo said you are also known as "The Master" I think that sounds really powerful and mysterious." Mewtwo couldn't stop himself from blushing a bit.  
  
Avista laughed. "You've changed colour!" she giggled. Mewtwo blushed redder. He'd never blushed before either. He gritted his teeth and flew into the air.  
  
"Let's continue," he said. Avista followed him."Our next lesson involves the more powerful attacks. Not the most powerful, but the attacks of medium power. These are Super Psy, the more powerful version of psychic. Psy Blast, you focus all your energy to one point and release it. Energy Absorption, you absorb your opponent's energy to weaken them. Psy Burn, just a combination of psychic and fire power. Speed Star, you attack faster- very fast, very deadly and Hypnotic Wave, which hypnotises the opponent so you can control them. We'll start with super psy."  
  
Avista released her energy too fast and fell out of the sky. Mewtwo went to ask her if she was Ok, but his Mewtwo side got the better of him.  
  
~She's a Mewtwo, she can look after herself.~  
  
She flew back into the sky after a brief pause that she did a recover move in.  
  
"Let your energy come out slower, it will give you a better chance of a hit." explained Mewtwo.  
  
"Ok" said Avista, stretching herself out and frowning in a threatening manner.  
  
Like with the other attacks, they worked through these with little problem. They were down to the last one-psy burn. Avista couldn't get the hang of a different element. First the fire came out of her ears, then her bottom. This really embarrassed her and she hid behind a lone tree for a while, blushing bright red and crouched in a small ball. Mewtwo came over and put his hand on her shoulder, after getting bored waiting.  
  
Avista looked up at him. "I'm so sorry I did that. I really didn't mean to, but it sort of just came out. I bet you think I'm an embarrassment." She buried her head in her arms.  
  
"Who saw? There's only you and me here and I understand you are training. It wasn't your fault," said Mewtwo. Then to make her feel better, he said, "I'll just remember not to let you near any beans!"  
  
Avista looked at him, puzzled. "Why?" she asked.  
  
Mewtwo rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He said. He put a hand down to her. "Ready to train again?" he asked her. She took his hand and stood up.  
  
"I'm very grateful to you for helping me train," she said to him, smiling. Mewtwo smirked.  
  
"No problem" he said.  
  
Suddenly, Avista threw her arms round him in a big, friendly hug. Mewtwo smiled. He'd discovered he liked close contact with others, it felt good and he felt needed. He especially liked close contact with Avista. He still didn't really know why, he just did, so he didn't try to look in to it too much. He just liked it. He put his arms round her. She purred happily and wagged her tail to and fro. He nuzzled her and began to purr too.  
  
"Shall I have another go at the fire?" Avista asked.  
  
Mewtwo was a bit disappointed she'd let go of him, but he said, "ok, we'll have another try."  
  
They flew into the air and Avista concentrated.  
  
Then she went limp and said, "uhh, where exactly does the fire come out anyway?"  
  
"From your hands" said Mewtwo.  
  
"Oh, right!" said Avista. She concentrated again. Putting her arms out in front of her, she formed a psychic/fire ball. Then she threw it at Mewtwo.  
  
He dodged, but looked happy. "You've got it!" he yelled. Avista did tail spins, joyfully. She flew up to him, looking playful.  
  
"What now?" she asked.  
  
"Now, we move on to our final lesson. The most powerful attacks in the Pokémon world, most of them exclusive to our species. They are; Psycho Crash, this uses the opponent's power combined with yours against the opponent. Yes, your power level is finally high enough for you to use it. Destruction Beam, this is another of my favourites. It's a powerful psychic beam that blows up everything in its path. Change Damage, if your opponent damages you, then this attack swaps the damage so it damages the opponent. This is a particularly useful attack if your opponent uses a very powerful attack against you. Finally, the Mewtwo's most powerful and most important attack-Regeneration. This is a natural attack your body performs if you are killed."  
  
"Wow!" said Avista in amazement.  
  
"You don't really need to learn the last one, it will work if you are killed. However, if your opponent attacks you while you are doing it and the attack is powerful enough to kill you again, there is only a small chance regeneration will work. It won't work if your body is in a bad state, say, torn apart or something. It will work if there are only small injuries and if any bones are broken. It won't heal these, however, it jut brings you back to life. Use a cure all attack afterwards."  
  
"Have you ever used it?" asked Avista.  
  
"Yes, when I was in the lab, some machinery shot and killed me. I used regeneration then and came to life again." Replied Mewtwo. Avista's eyes became wide with admiration. Mewtwo couldn't help feeling a little proud and he grinned in pleasure.  
  
They started training for the last three attacks. Avista had a bit of a problem controlling the destruction beam and she didn't try out the psycho crash attack on Mewtwo, she had to do it on a passing Beedrill because of Mewtwo's power. It could put him in danger if his immense power was turned against himself.  
  
Finally, the training session was over. Mewtwos are naturally fast learners, but it had still taken the whole day and Avista felt shattered. Mewtwo congratulated her on her achievements and she smiled happily. Then she collapsed on him.  
  
Néo flew down from the sky. He'd been watching the progress for quite a while and when he saw they were finished training, he flew on down to see how much Avista had learnt.  
  
Avista floated over to him happily. "Guess what? I've learnt all the Mewtwo moves!" she yelled.  
  
"Well done." Said Néo, then he turned to Mewtwo and said; "you know there was no point teaching her those moves. If Danté's a dark type, he'll be too immune to most of those attacks. I've been out getting TMs. I know a variety of elemental attacks. Powerful ones."  
  
"The reason I taught her the Mewtwo attacks was because she can't learn TMs until she's learnt the attacks of her own species, you insipid creature. Have you no brain??"  
  
"Yes, I do, I just didn't think about that, that's all. Besides, I guess you have a point. You can only learn four TMs if you know all the attacks of your species. I learnt Fire Blast, Dynamic Punch, Zap Cannon and Hyper Beam. A fire, a fighting, an electric and a normal. Seems like a good combo to me."  
  
Mewtwo snickered in his usual way. ~Good combo,~ he thought, ~though not very practical.~ He turned to Avista. "Tomorrow," he said, "we will get some TMs." Avista nodded and stretched her aching muscles. She yawned.  
  
As they were flying back home, Mewtwo sent a telepathic message to Nightmare, telling him their plans. They would go to Bio corp. tomorrow morning to look around, after they'd gone to a Pokémon Store to get some TMs. Mewtwo wanted to destroy Giovanni without getting involved with Danté. Without his master, Danté would be powerless.  
  
"You are ready." Said Giovanni. Danté nodded and thrashed his long, red tail.  
  
"I will not fail you, Master," he said.  
  
Giovanni walked out of Danté's quarters and along the corridor, into the lab. Scientists were sitting round a large table in a room off to the side of the lab. Giovanni went and sat down at the head of the table. The scientists looked at him, some expectantly, some warily.  
  
"Tomorrow, we will go out to look for the original Mewtwo. When we find it, I will set Danté against it to weaken it, then we'll catch it in a Rocket Ball. We'll bring it back to the lab, put it in a Psychic Suppresser and brain wash it. Once I have it under my control again, I will conquer the world!" said Giovanni, triumphantly.  
  
A worried looking scientist, who appeared very unsure of this raised his hand.  
  
"Yes?" asked Giovanni, "what is it?"  
  
"Uh, well, I, er, I don't think this is such a good idea sir."  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"Well, you see, it could be very dangerous pitting two dangerous creatures like these against each other. Who knows what effects their attacks will have on the surrounding area, they could end up destroying everything. Besides, you have Danté, isn't he powerful enough?"  
  
"No, the original's powers far surpass anything Danté could produce. Danté just has an advantage over the original, but he's much weaker. With the original Mewtwo under my control once more, I can use its powerful mental powers to put the whole world under my command. The whole purpose of Danté is so I can capture Mewtwo. When I've finished with Danté, I'll destroy him. Any more questions?"  
  
The whole room was quiet. Most of the scientists were thinking how cruel Giovanni was, treating and using Pokémon as if they were just tools for his evil schemes. The rest where thinking what they were going to have for dinner, if their cars had got scratched by other cars outside in the car park and why they couldn't get Channel 5 on their TV sets.  
  
Danté was oblivious to all this, in his quarters, flossing his teeth. He'd just eaten a raw Miltank and the bits got stuck in his sickle-like teeth. He looked in the mirror and his eyes flashed green.  
  
~Ah yes, tomorrow will be most enjoyable~ he thought.  
  
Avista, Néo and Mewtwo stopped off at Pokémon restaurant-a restaurant that trainers were allowed Pokémon in and pretended to hang around with a trainer there, so they could get themselves some food. The trainer then wondered why his bill was so big.  
  
On normal circumstances, they would've simply teleported the food to the house, but Avista wanted to eat out to see what it was like. They sat down at a table and waited to be served. Shortly, a waiter came over ith a tray of food, a big tray. ~Must be ours~ thought Néo to Avista. Avista giggled.  
  
"Where is the trainer of the three Mewtwos?" called the waiter. Before the Pokémon were given their food, if the trainer wasn't at the table with them, he had to make sure they had a trainer and hadn't just snuck in.  
  
"They're mine" called a girl with a table full of Pokémon, "there wasn't enough room for them on my table." Mewtwo grinned at Avista and Néo. Mind control is such a useful thing.  
  
The waiter put the tray in front of them and they tucked in. Most of it was Pokémon chow. Néo loved Pokémon chow, but Mewtwo hated it. He chomped on some hot dogs and lasagne. Avista ate almost anything. Mewtwo was particularly partial to grapes. After their meal, they left.  
  
"Go home you three" said the girl. That was the excuse Mewtwo came up with for leaving the place without a trainer.  
  
Soon, they were back home. Néo played an interesting little role-play game on a Game Boy he found, Mewtwo meditated and Avista fell asleep on the couch.  
  
Later, Néo's eyes got tired of staring at the Game Boy screen and he turned it off.  
  
"I'm going to sleep" he said and went upstairs.  
  
Mewtwo looked across the room at Avista sleeping peacefully on the couch. He smiled and went over to her. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and she stirred slightly. Then, ever so gently, he picked her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. Néo had fallen asleep, but he wasn't snoring, much to Mewtwo's surprise. He laid Avista gently on the mattress that served as something to sleep on and lay down next to her. He looked at her fondly. She was the first real friend of his own species he'd ever had and she meant a lot to him. He couldn't help worrying about what might happen to her if Danté attacked her. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her. Néo was a good friend too, but he was annoying.  
  
~He probably couldn't care less if Danté beats the crap out of me, so long as he defeats him~ thought Mewtwo. He looked back at Avista again. She had a peaceful expression on her face. Mewtwo smiled and nuzzled her lightly, then he wrapped his tail round her and fell asleep.  
  
On the other bed, Néo wasn't asleep. He'd never been asleep, which was why he hadn't been snoring. He'd stayed awake to see Mewtwo coming up.  
  
He smirked. ~I think Mewtwo wants her for a mate~ he thought. He looked out of the window at the night sky. ~Well, good luck for him. I know I'll never get one.~ He fell asleep slowly.  
  
Néo was wrong, Mewtwo was incapable of feeling true love for anyone. When he'd been created, he hadn't been given the correct hormones for that emotion, since his purpose was to fight. He was a neuter with predominantly male hormones. Male creatures have a better will to fight than females and that was the reason for it. The feelings he felt for Avista were not love, but protectiveness and affection. It was the closest to love he could ever feel, but it wasn't love.  
  
Early the next morning, Mewtwo shook Avista awake and yelled at Néo to get up. If they wanted to go to the Pokémon store, they had to start out early, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get the TMs without a trainer there and Mewtwo couldn't be bothered to muck about with mind control today, they needed all their energy for the possible fight they could encounter. Néo fell off the bed and Avista groaned.  
  
"Do we have to leave this early?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, if you want the TMs without any problems," replied Mewtwo quickly. "Now hurry up and have breakfast."  
  
They went downstairs and had breakfast in the living room. For Néo, this was some food teleported from an Italian restaurant, for Avista, it was chocolate and Dr Pepper (as usual) and for Mewtwo, it was grapes and funnel cake. After their unusual and hurried breakfast, they left for the nearest and biggest Pokémon store.  
  
Néo spotted it first. It had a large, open Pokéball on the roof and it was also closed. No problem for the three of them, they teleported in.  
  
Mewtwo looked for the TMs, whilst Néo went and looked for some Pokémon chow. Avista ran up and down the isles yelling and laughing.  
  
~AVISTA!~ ~Yes Mewtwo?~ ~I've found the TMs, come here~ Avista flew up high, so she could see the whole store, spotted Mewtwo and flew over to him. He was standing in front of rows of shelves with strange little machines on. They each had different labels on them and they were all helmet shaped. ~You put them on and the wires, here, connect to your head and you learn the technique within the machine. They can only be used once, but if you don't like a particular one, you can learn a new attack over it, however, you may only learn up to four at any one time.~ explained Mewtwo.  
  
"Why are you talking in your mind?" asked Avista.  
  
~I don't wish to be too loud~ replied Mewtwo, ~in case they have noise detectors here. However, I'm sure if they did, they'd have gone off by now, judging by the noise you were making just now.~ Avista went slightly pink.  
  
She looked at the rows of machines on the shelves and began to choose some.  
  
"Let's see, I choose Bubble Beam, Hyper Beam, Solar Beam and Ice Beam" she said after a while. Mewtwo looked doubtful about her choice, still it was hers to make. She put the technical machines on one by one and learnt the attacks.  
  
"Will I still be able to do all my old attacks?" she asked Mewtwo.  
  
"Yes", he replied. Now he had to choose some. He chose the most effective attacks and they were all damage causers, not things that slowed down speed etc. Mewtwo chose Thunder, Shadow Ball, Blizzard and Seismic Toss. After learning the attacks, they looked for Néo who'd, apparently, disappeared.  
  
They soon found him stuffing his face with Pokémon chow.  
  
"NÉO! This is no time to stuff yourself with food, it will slow you down in battle!!" scolded Mewtwo.  
  
"No it won't, remember that aside from you, I'm the most powerful Mewtwo in the world. Nothing can stop me in battle!" boasted Néo.  
  
"Let's just get going, shall we?" said Mewtwo. Néo and Avista nodded and they teleported out of the store, remembering to wipe any video cameras that had been taping their activities.  
  
Outside, they met up with Nightmare. Avista hid behind Mewtwo.  
  
"I am ready, are we going now?" he asked.  
  
"Yes" said Mewtwo, floating into the air.  
  
"Good, I am looking forward to kicking that creep Mewtwo's @$$!" snarled Nightmare with an evil pleasure in his voice.  
  
"We're not going there to look for Danté. We're going there to destroy Giovanni. Without his master, Danté will be powerless." Said Mewtwo.  
  
"Very well, you destroy him, but I get to battle Danté" said Nightmare.  
  
"As you wish" replied Mewtwo. They flew on to Bio Engineering Researchers corp.  
  
At the corp., Giovanni and Danté were setting out to look for Mewtwo.  
  
~Where is this weakling?~ asked Danté mentally to Giovanni.  
  
"Last time we heard, he was in the mountains, hiding out. We shall go there, corner him in his cavern and capture him!" said Giovanni, triumphantly.  
  
Danté smirked. ~Peace of cake~ he thought.  
  
They were long gone when Mewtwo, Néo, Avista and Nightmare arrived at the corp. They hovered above the towering smoking buildings and looked around. Mewtwo took charge.  
  
"We'll look for Giovanni and try to stay out of sight from anyone else. Let's split up so it will be quicker. When one of us sights him, send a telepathic message to everyone else." Said Mewtwo.  
  
So they split up. Mewtwo was a little worried about Avista being on her own. ~She's a Mewtwo, she can look after herself~ he reminded himself, ~besides, she knows a lot of attacks now. She'll be fine.~  
  
Avista had gone to the main labs. They were in several huge rooms and as she entered the first one, she wished she hadn't. There were no scientists in there, but some of the contents of the tubes were shocking. The first tube had a very miserable and very deformed Raichu. It was barely recognisable as a Raichu. Its bones stuck out through it's skin and it was painfully thin. It seemed the scientists had tried to fuse it with a Raticate and its teeth were too big for it. It stared out of its tube miserably at Avista. Avista shuddered.  
  
In the next tube was a Mewtwo. It was sleeping, but there was something unusual about it. It was part Lugia. It had a Lugia's crest and eye patches and the tip of its tail had the blades on from a Lugia. It's skin, instead of being purple was a blue, white luminescent colour. Avista pressed her nose up to the glass and had a close look. The creature appeared to be a female.  
  
Suddenly, its eyes flashed open, startling her. Avista leaped back, upsetting a table with test tubes on. The creature in the tube looked at her and then looked around the room. Avista watched it, ready to run if it tried to attack her. Its head fell, miserably. It knew it was trapped in some sort of glass prison and made no attempt to escape. Avista went up to the tube it was in again.  
  
She tapped it gently with her finger and the creature looked at her. Avista smiled. So did the creature. Avista wagged her tail. So did the creature. But the tube wasn't big enough for that and the creature smashed it. She stood there, next to Avista, looking surprised and ashamed at the same time.  
  
"What have I done?" she said.  
  
"You freed yourself" replied Avista.  
  
"They won't be happy" sighed the creature.  
  
"Who, the scientists?"  
  
"Yes. They will punish me. I have been created to be 100% obedient. I have heard if I do not obey what they tell me, I will end up like that."  
  
She pointed to another specimen, one Avista hadn't noticed. It was a Mewtwo, but it was the most ugly thing she'd ever seen. Worse than the little Ratichu. This Mewtwo wasn't fused with anything, it was just badly deformed. It's eyes stuck out and one was larger than the other. Half the skin on its left arm was missing, revealing tissue and white bone and its ears were deformed. Half the skin was missing on its face too and Avista could clearly see parts of its skull through the remaining skin. It, too was thin and wasted and it looked like it had been through a lot of torture. Its eyes were sad and slightly glazed over, as if it was on its last legs. It crouched on its haunches and was not in a tube. It was tied up in a corner of the lab. Another noticeable thing about it was its tail. It only had half a tail. The other half was just bone, as though the skin and tissue had been raked off. It gazed over at Avista and held out a shaky hand to her. Its eyes were red and watery and tears streamed out of them. The shackles it had on were too tight for it and it sat in a pool of dried blood from where it had been bleeding because of this.  
  
~Please.help.me.~ Its mental screams of pain filled Avista's head, almost deafening her.  
  
"That's what they did to him," said the Lugitwo quietly, "for disobeying them." Avista went over to the Mewtwo and knelt in front of him.  
  
He reached out a scarred hand and gently touched her. ~Its.so.good.to feel.another~ he said weakly.  
  
Avista took his hand. "I feel so sorry for you" she said.  
  
The Mewtwo sighed wearily. ~Humans will be the downfall of this planet~ he sighed.  
  
"Too right" said the Lugitwo. The injured Mewtwo shut his eyes. Avista laid his hand back down and stood up.  
  
"What did he do for them to do something like that to him?" she asked the Lugitwo.  
  
"He turned on one of the scientists when they wouldn't tell him what they were going to do with him. They are afraid the same thing will happen to them that has happened in the past if they don't keep the Mewtwos under control. A Mewtwo was created years ago and they couldn't control it. It destroyed a whole island. They did that to him to teach him a lesson." She replied.  
  
"But he's nearly dead. Surely, they didn't punish him that much for stepping out of line once?"  
  
"They didn't. When he stepped out of line again because of his curiosity, they set the One on him. That nearly left him dead. He was recovering fine until one of the specimens escaped and they blamed him for it. Then they used him as an experimental specimen to test out new experiments on. They made us all watch as a lesson to what would happen to us if we ever stepped out of line. I saw everything they did to him. I saw how he got like that." A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the horrific details of it.  
  
"Who is the "One"?" asked Avista.  
  
"The most terrifying specimen of them all. He is as dark as night and blood red. His eyes glow green with evil. Sometimes he comes in here and looks in all the tubes, scaring the specimens and threatening them. He is deadly."  
  
"Danté" murmured Avista.  
  
"How did you escape?" asked the Lugitwo. Avista had come form another part of the labs and so consequently hadn't seen the Lugitwo and the other specimens in this lab.  
  
"I escaped a while back. I killed the scientists that came after me and came across another Mewtwo. He and I met some more Mewtwos and we've come here to find and destroy Giovanni."  
  
"You won't find him. He and the One have gone to look for the original Mewtwo and re-capture it." Said the Lugitwo.  
  
Meanwhile, Néo had found a test rig, where tests were run on specimens. There were some scientists there, running tests now. Néo stayed out of sight and watched. They were running tests on a Houndoom.  
  
The Houndoom was in a room with wires hanging down from the ceiling of it. Every so often, the wires charged negative electricity at the Houndoom. The Houndoom yelped and ran around, but got hit each time. They shot the electricity at it so many times, it began to glow with negative power.  
  
Suddenly, it started changing. It started growing and evolving. Its horns became longer and more curved, its muzzle grew and its teeth grew too. Its tail split in two and huge talons formed on its feet. A pair of bat-like wings grew from its back. Standing there was a creature twice the size of the Houndoom with red eyes, snarling with rage and determination.  
  
"Excellent," said one of the scientists. "Another example of Dark type Pokémon evolving further if they are charged with negative ions."  
  
Néo looked on it horror as they sent gas into the room the creature was in and knocked it out, then caught it.  
  
Suddenly, he heard Avista sending him a telepathic message.  
  
Avista was sending Mewtwo the message, too. He'd been exploring the meeting room, where the scientists had meetings about scientific stuff. There was an over head projector, a board with a pen and some stuff used for demonstrations. Mewtwo contented himself with trying to use the pen on the board. It was a bit fiddly for his fingers and he clumsily kept dropping it. Concentrating very hard, he managed to draw a Pokéball and a picture of himself chasing some stick men. Just as he was finishing that off, he got Avista's message.  
  
Nightmare was torturing a scientist he'd found getting some supplies from a stock cupboard. He'd been walking down a corridor, when he'd heard some noises coming from a door on his left. He'd gone in and there was the scientist franticly trying to pick up some glass he'd dropped and broken. Nightmare stepped in and the scientist looked up, expecting someone had come to help him. Instead he'd seen an ugly scarred Mewtwo with one eye and an evil smirk. It was the last thing he saw too. Nightmare was just finishing off the remains when he got Avista's message.  
  
Avista sent everyone a message to meet somewhere private because she had something important to tell them about Giovanni and Danté.  
  
They all met up in an empty room.  
  
"Why did you call us?"  
  
"Who is that?"  
  
"Why do you have blood all over your face, Nightmare?"  
  
Were the first things that they said to each other.  
  
"I called you all to tell you, it isn't worth searching any more, Giovanni and Danté have gone to look for you," said Avista, pointing at Mewtwo. "This is the Lugitwo. I convinced her to come with us."  
  
The Lugitwo looked at the other four shyly. "I'm real pleased to meet you all. I just hope I'm doing the right thing. If I get caught disobeying, they'll have my hide fer their shoes." Mewtwo looked puzzled at her unusual accent.  
  
The Lugitwo laughed and explained that the Lugia half her genes were from was Australian. Nightmare licked his arm, which made Néo remember about the blood.  
  
"Hey, Nightmare, why do you have blood all round your face?" he asked him.  
  
"I had a light snack" purred Nightmare, licking his lips. His arm was bleeding from where the scientist had attacked him with a bit of broken glass.  
  
"You cannibal!" snarled Avista. "You're part human, you can't do that."  
  
"I can do whatever I want to those creeps. They deserve no respect from me for what they've done to my species."  
  
"But Giovanni tells them what to do, they don't do it of their own cause. He's the one that must be destroyed. He uses the other humans as tools for his evil schemes because he's powerless on his own. Besides, what if the human had called the other scientists and alerted Giovanni and Danté?" yelled Avista.  
  
"Oh, that's just what he did!" said a voice. The five Mewtwos turned to the door of the room.  
  
There stood Giovanni with Danté behind him. The Lugitwo gasped and tried to hide herself behind Nightmare.  
  
Nightmare snarled. "And you're gonna be next!" he yelled, lunging at Giovanni before anyone could stop him.  
  
"You again!" snapped Danté, appearing in front of Giovanni. He swung his tail at Nightmare, but Nightmare dodged.  
  
"Silent Shadow!" roared Giovanni.  
  
Suddenly, Danté disappeared and Nightmare was thrown through the air. Danté re-appeared and threw him back the other way. He continued doing this and Nightmare was powerless to stop him.  
  
"Break out of it!" yelled Néo. Nightmare was moving too fast though and didn't have time to think.  
  
Finally, Danté dropped him.  
  
"Ooof!" Nightmare landed in a heap. He couldn't get up. His body had taken too much damage.  
  
"That's what will happen to you if you try anything" smirked Giovanni.  
  
Danté closed his eyes and thrashed his long tail. Mewtwo figured it would be better to take the fight outside where there was more room and no possibility that Nightmare could get harmed further in the battle.  
  
"You want me, right? Come get me!" he roared, eyes glowing blue, flying into the air. He blasted through the window of the room. Danté followed with Giovanni and the others followed too, apart from the Lugitwo who stayed behind to look after Nightmare.  
  
Outside, Avista, Mewtwo and Néo surrounded Danté in the air.  
  
Danté laughed. "You realise I have an advantage over you, don't you? You don't stand a chance against me."  
  
"We're still gonna try!" yelled Néo and threw a fire blast attack at Danté. Danté dodged it and returned with a shadow spread attack. The attack surrounded Néo, paralysing him. The device around his neck began to crack. He couldn't move, couldn't struggle. Couldn't escape. The device snapped and fell off. Néo felt his energy draining.  
  
Danté blinked, dropping him. "Fight now." He said. "Now you don't have your energy supply." He laughed, mockingly.  
  
Néo sat up in shock.  
  
His worst fear had come true.  
  
He'd lost his powers. He was like he used to be. Weak. Defenceless. He picked up the broken device. The blue crystal was dull. Powerless. He looked around himself. Then at Danté, hovering above him. Danté smirked.  
  
Néo threw back his head and howled mournfully. Now he knew he was doomed. He curled up in a small ball. Avista flew down to him and hugged him. He fell limp in her arms. What was the use of carrying on, when all the training you've done all your life was for nothing?  
  
"Friendship" spat Danté, "what a pathetic emotion!" He shot a small attack at Avista and Néo, separating them and throwing Avista across the grass.  
  
Avista slowly rose into the air, taking a threatening position.  
  
"No." she said quietly. "You're pathetic."  
  
"Oh, I'm scared," wailed Danté.  
  
"You're pathetic to be listening to that creep, Giovanni. I have no human master to help me fight. I do my own attacks whenever I like without being ordered to do so. Without friendship, loneliness comes and you end up destroying your own life in misery. Everyone needs a friend, even you. Even Mewtwos. I've learnt that. When I escaped this hellhole, I didn't have any friends. No one to turn to. Then I met Mewtwo. Then I met Néo. We've trained together and stuck it out even though we get annoyed with each other, like when Néo snores." Néo gave her "a look". "And you know what? You'll never defeat us. Know why? 'Cos we're a team. When one of us is down, the others will fight till they get their strength back. That's why friends are good. Because they help each other. You have no one, Danté. You're just a tool Giovanni uses for his world domination plans. He created you for a use, when he's finished with you; you'll probably end up like that poor Mewtwo chained up in the lab. Just another "specimen", another experiment. That's if he even decides to let you live."  
  
She folded her arms and floated in the air, staring down her nose at Danté as if he were nothing more than a particle of dust, floating in the air. Danté looked at Giovanni in shock. Was he really planning to do away with him when he'd finished "using" him?  
  
"Ah, Biotikk#17. The weakling. The one who escaped. I'm surprised you came back here after what you went through, but I thank you anyway. You've led the Mewtwo straight to us. It should be easy to capture it. Don't listen to her, Danté, she's messing with your mind. When I rule this planet, you shall rule it with me as partners, equals." Said Giovanni.  
  
"See?!" yelled Danté. "Giovanni is my friend. I do as he commands because I wish to."  
  
"Yeah, right!" Avista scoffed.  
  
"That stupid fool said the same thing to me. Then, when he thought he had me under his control, he told me humans and Pokémon can never be equals." Said Mewtwo.  
  
"SHUT UP!" roared Danté. "I do not believe you."  
  
"Believe what you wish" said Néo weakly, "he is turning you against your own species."  
  
Danté growled in rage and slashed Néo across the head with his sharp claws, knocking him out. Avista had had enough. She'd tried to reason with him (mainly because once again, she'd forgotten she had powers) but now it was time for action. She flew up in the air, close to the sun, absorbing energy.  
  
Mewtwo and Danté meanwhile faced off.  
  
"I've waited a long time to do this." Smirked Danté. Mewtwo said nothing, but his eyes glowed white with anger, rage and hatred for this creature. Danté grinned, showing off his needle sharp teeth and he flexed his claws. The claws on his feet also shot out a bit longer. He thrashed his tail threateningly. Mewtwo quietly sized him up. He too, thrashed his tail, showing off how powerfully he could move his muscles. Danté charged himself up and Mewtwo focused his energy.  
  
Finally, with a roar, Danté attacked first. This was Mewtwo had anticipated. Danté did a shadow spread attack. Using his forcefield, Mewtwo escaped it, spread out his body and sent out a potent thunder attack. It hit Danté dead on, throwing him backwards. Mewtwo did a blizzard attack, hoping to freeze Danté. It didn't work. It did make him use recover, however.  
  
Mewtwo looked triumphant. Danté rose up in the air and disappeared. A silent shadow attack.  
  
~Let's fight shadow with shadow~ thought Mewtwo and used a shadow ball attack. Through the shadow ball he formed, he could see Danté coming right at him and was able to dodge him just in time. Then, as Danté re-appeared, Mewtwo threw the ball at him.  
  
Danté simply laughed, soaking up the shadow energy. "Thanks for the recharge" he laughed. Mewtwo snarled in rage. Right now, he could've punched himself. Danté went in for another silent shadow attack. This time, Mewtwo was ready without a shadow ball. He predicted correctly where Danté would re-appear. He grabbed hold of him and did a seismic toss attack. Before Danté, stunned, could get up, Mewtwo attacked him repeatedly with thunder.  
  
Finally, he stopped and floated in the air, panting slightly, his body covered in sweat. Danté slowly and painfully pulled himself up to a standing position.  
  
Suddenly, he was hit back down again by a powerful blast.  
  
It was Néo.  
  
He stood opposite Danté, snarling, head lowered, ears back, tail swishing fiercely. He'd just used a hyper beam attack. Danté lifted his head, puzzled by the sudden attack. Then he saw Néo. Then he saw the attack coming full speed at his head. A fire blast attack. He flew up, quickly, doing a recover move before his face got fried.  
  
He snarled in rage, teeth showing. "Back for more?" he yelled. Néo threw a dynamic punch at him. He missed. Danté was now floating above him. Néo looked up, but he was only strong enough to stay in one place and fight, if he moved, he'd lose all his energy completely. He desperately tried to do recover as he felt the psychic/dark powers of Danté powering up for an attack that would surely crush him. He didn't feel it. Nothing hit him. He looked up.  
  
There was Avista doing a well-charged solar beam attack on Danté. She'd been floating up near the sun while everyone else was battling, waiting for a chance to attack effectively. Now she'd found her chance. Danté was knocked back. The light from the solar beam stunned him, a part dark Pokémon. He shook his head, but couldn't see straight.  
  
Suddenly everything was filled with darkness.  
  
"Well done, Danté" came Giovanni's voice form out of nowhere. "A Blackout attack. Now you are capable of using your most powerful and deadly Umbra Beam attack. Knock the Mewtwo out and bring it to me."  
  
Avista, Mewtwo and Néo could barely see their own hands in front of their faces, much less Danté's current position. Danté was used to seeing in the dark and his eyes were better than theirs at it because of his elements. He could see where each of them were. Néo was on the ground, looking around, Avista was floating in the air, trying to get her eyes to adjust, and Mewtwo was.Mewtwo was.gone. Danté looked around. Where was Mewtwo?  
  
Suddenly, Giovanni's voice rang out in the silence. "HELP! DANTÉ! It's attacking me!"  
  
Quick thinking Mewtwo had gone straight for Giovanni as soon as it got dark. Mewtwo tackled Giovanni and had his hand round the human's throat. Much as he hated to touch such a vile person, he couldn't give away his position by firing off an attack. Mewtwo gripped Giovanni's throat tighter, constricting him. He wrapped his tail round his body, squeezing the air out of his tormentor. Anger boiled inside Mewtwo, but also relief. He'd wanted to do this for ages. Now finally, Giovanni was suffering torture like Mewtwo had suffered. The only difference being it probably wouldn't destroy Giovanni's mind and hope. It would kill him though. Mewtwo squeezed harder. Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back. He ignored it, still gripping Giovanni. He was going to break his neck. He was hit again, harder this time. He still ignored it, guessing it was Danté trying to distract him from killing his master. He felt a small crack under his grasp. Just a little bit tighter.  
  
Suddenly, there was an almighty whooshing noise and Mewtwo felt something hit him full force. Trying to protect himself, he dropped Giovanni and went to turn round. The last thing he saw was something darker than the darkest shade of black you can imagine blasting through the darkness towards him. It hit him with a force so powerful, he thought his body had snapped in two. Mewtwo fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Avista looked around herself. Why had it gone dark and what were those odd noises. Very slowly, the sky began to brighten a little. She could now make out shapes and images. She saw Néo and ran quietly over to him.  
  
~Are you OK?~ she asked him. Néo touched his neck where his device had once been.  
  
~At least I'm alive.~ he said quietly. Avista saw a small tear trickle down his cheek. She put her arms round him and licked it off.  
  
~Yes~ she replied and nuzzled him. Néo smiled slightly. Then he remembered. Mewtwo! Where was he? Avista also wondered why Mewtwo was so quiet. Maybe he'd killed Giovanni. She had heard him crying for help a while ago. Maybe everything was all right now.  
  
It got lighter and the sky returned to normal. Néo and Avista looked around themselves and their eyes settled on Mewtwo's still form at the same time.  
  
"MEWTWO!" yelled Avista, flying over to him. His body was surrounded by a faint aura and Avista suddenly realised what he was doing. Regeneration. Danté had killed him.  
  
Avista sat in the grass beside him. She didn't want to touch him in case she stopped the attack or something, but she still felt the uncontrollable urge to throw her arms around him and share a recover move.  
  
~No.~ she told herself. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed helplessly beside him.  
  
Néo silently joined her, though he didn't cry, he just put his arm around her and comforted her. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.  
  
Further away from where Mewtwo lay, Giovanni also lay. He hadn't moved from the spot where he'd landed when Mewtwo flung him aside to protect himself. Danté loyally sat beside him, his face crumpled in sadness. He was incapable of crying, it had not been created in him to do that. He placed his hands on his master's body and shared a recover move. Giovanni slowly came to.  
  
"Master.are.are you alright?" he asked softly. Giovanni looked at him as though he didn't recognise him at first. Then he suddenly remembered.  
  
"That thing tried to kill me. Where is it?" he asked looking around for Mewtwo. Danté pointed to the motionless Mewtwo with Néo and Avista beside him. Giovanni sneered and slowly got up. Danté tried to support him and help him stand but the obdurate human pushed him away.  
  
Over by Mewtwo, Avista still cried. Néo felt like he would cry, but he kept a brave face, so Avista wouldn't see that he also was afraid Mewtwo had taken too much damage and might not make it.  
  
Suddenly, something very odd happened. A red light swallowed Mewtwo up and he disappeared. Néo looked around, alarmed. Then he saw Giovanni holding something in his hand. A Rocket Ball. Giovanni had a nasty sneer on his face.  
  
"Teamwork.pah! I don't need teamwork when I have Danté," gloated Giovanni. Danté stood beside him, grinning.  
  
At the sound of Giovanni's voice, Avista looked up from Néo's chest. Her eyes clouded with sadness and rage as she saw what Giovanni had done.  
  
"Release him now!" she snarled, standing.  
  
"Or what?" snapped Giovanni and clicked his fingers. Danté obediently lunged at Avista, slashing her across the side with a claw. Avista fell back, with a yelp of pain. Néo dashed forward and went for Danté, but Danté had gone back into the lab with Giovanni.  
  
It was over.  
  
They'd lost.  
  
Avista howled out her sorrow and misery and Néo, too would have done if he didn't feel someone had to keep a brave face through it all. He looked detestfully at the laboratories. He put his arm round Avista and felt something on his hand. Blood.  
  
"Avista, recover yourself" he said quickly. Avista recovered herself, then collapsed in a heap on the ground. Néo noticed she hadn't recovered soon enough and there was a faint scar across her side. "Come on, get up. There's no point in lying there for the rest of your life."  
  
"What's the point? Giovanni's got him now. There's nothing we can do.if we.if we try to rescue him, Danté will probably kill us." She started crying again. "He.he was my best friend. He trained me and stood by me and.and looked after me. He was the first friend I.I ever had." She wailed, wishing Mewtwo was there right now to hold her and tell her everything would be OK.  
  
Néo crouched down beside her. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. Giovanni's probably got him in some sort of energy drainer right now. In a few days he won't even know us. He'll be brain washed. Nothing more than a puppet for Giovanni's evil schemes." It didn't help much, but Néo wasn't very good at comforting people, he hadn't had a lot of practice.  
  
Avista shot up, angrily. "No." she said firmly, "no."  
  
Néo hung his head. She was obviously going to take a long time to get over this.  
  
"He isn't going to be brain washed. I'm not going to allow it. If Giovanni wants to brain wash my friend, he'll have to deal with me first."  
  
"Avista, you're not strong enough to rescue Mewtwo alone and I've lost most of my power. We need to rest before we even think about doing something like that."  
  
Avista shot him a look. "How can I think of resting when Mewtwo's in there being tortured? Help me if you want, I have other plans." With that, she shot off into the sky. Néo watched her go, then turned and flew off in the opposite direction.  
  
Avista knew exactly where she was going. She was going to find Selkirk. She flew around the place where Selkirk had had the run in with Danté, calling him.  
  
Finally he came. As soon as he saw her, he flew up to her and hugged her tightly. Avista wondered why he was being so affectionate. It wasn't normal for a Mewtwo, especially a male one to hug you in greeting. She returned it and opened her mouth to say something, but realised he still had his arms round her.  
  
"Uh, Selkirk, I think you've hugged me enough for one day." She said, feeling a little squeezed. She wondered if he was in the condition humans sometimes got in, called "drunk".  
  
Selkirk nuzzled her in reply. Avista now felt scared. He certainly wasn't behaving normally. She teleported out of his grasp and re-appeared a little way away from him. He wagged his tail and flew up to her.  
  
"Selkirk," she said holding a hand out as a warning for him not to come near, "I need your help."  
  
"Anything!" interrupted Selkirk, looking slightly more than happy.  
  
Avista continued. "Something terrible has happened. Mewtwo has been captured by Giovanni."  
  
Selkirk flew back, stunned. "Captured??" he gasped.  
  
"Yes," replied Avista. "I need you to help me help him escape."  
  
"Why?" asked Selkirk.  
  
"Because he was the very first friend I met and he means a lot to me and I can't do it on my own. Besides, I've seen how fast and stealthy you are in battle, I know you could help me sneak in and rescue him."  
  
Selkirk looked doubtful. "I.I don't like going near laboratories. They freak me out. I can smell fear and danger all around them.I'm sorry. I can't help you." He looked ashamed.  
  
Avista flew close to him and looked deep into his yellow eyes. "I know there' s a hero in there somewhere." She said, "where's your courage?" Selkirk didn't reply, just looked ashamed. Avista gave him a cute look. "Pleeeeease?" she pleaded. Something drifted across Selkirk's face. An emotion. Avista smiled pleadingly. Selkirk appeared to be giving in slightly. She licked him lightly on the cheek and grinned.  
  
"Alright, alright, I give in. You've persuaded me, ok?" said Selkirk. Avista did somersaults in the air, joyfully. "But only because I like you." Said Selkirk. Avista felt something. A strange feeling Selkirk was omitting. She looked puzzled, but was too excited to think much about it.  
  
"Let's go then!" she yelled.  
  
Selkirk sighed. "Ok." He said.  
  
As they flew back to the labs, they both had things on their minds. Avista was thinking of all the times Mewtwo had protected her and helped her. Now it was her turn to repay him.  
  
Selkirk was thinking of Avista. It had been a while since his last mate had succumbed to a Pokémon trophy hunter and he knew it was time to move on. He watched her as she flew beside him and imagined them as mates.  
  
Suddenly, he noticed the faint scar along her side. He ran his hand along it, startling her and she stopped.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"How did you get the scar?" asked Selkirk, pointing to it.  
  
"Danté" said Avista shortly and began to fly along again. Selkirk felt anger building up inside him. He was now sure he wanted to rescue Mewtwo, if only to have a go at Danté himself. He remembered how Danté had whipped his butt in battle those few days ago and for the rest of the way, thought about how to use tactics to get revenge on that vile black monster.  
  
Giovanni sat in his office watching Mewtwo on a security camera. Mewtwo was in a lab with a psychic suppresser connected to him to keep his energy drained. He was once again in a tube like the one he'd been born in, only without the water. He was sleeping peacefully. Giovanni snickered to himself. Soon, he thought, soon you will be my slave.  
  
Nightmare and the Lugitwo had also been captured by scientists soon after the battle outside had begun and they had no idea who was winning, since they hadn't seen Giovanni or Danté come into that particular lab. The Lugitwo was back in her tube and Nightmare had been knocked out with a drug and was in a cage near the chained up Mewtwo. It was the first thing he saw when he woke up and it nearly shocked the life out of him. It reached towards him with a battered hand, a gentle smile on its face. Nightmare stared at it in fear and backed into a corner of his cage.  
  
~Do.not.be afraid. I will not.hurt you~ it said mentally to him.  
  
Over in her tube, the Lugitwo spoke.  
  
~That there's Biotikk#95. Poor guy's real crook after the beating he's taken. Dun worry, he won't hurt ya. He wants to be friends. That's all he wants in the whole world is someone who will treat him kindly. He cowers from the humans, but another of his own kind he reaches out to in friendship. Fair dinkum, he's not a bad sort really.~  
  
Nightmare looked at him disgustedly. ~Looks bad, though.~ he thought. Looking around himself, he suddenly realised he was in a cage in a lab. He tried to teleport out, but couldn't. There was some sort of energy thing stopping his powers, so he couldn't escape. He rattled his cage angrily, bringing over a scientist.  
  
"Quiet down now!" yelled the scientist.  
  
"No I bloody well won't. Let me out of here!" snapped Nightmare. The scientist calmly came over and pushed a needle in between the bars of the cage. Nightmare was knocked out cold.  
  
Outside, Avista and Selkirk had arrived back.  
  
"We need a plan of action" murmured Avista.  
  
"Well start thinking!" yelled a voice and Néo swooped down looking like he'd gained a second life.  
  
"You decided to help after all then," said Avista. "What made you change your mind?"  
  
Néo grinned and puffed out his chest. He pointed to his neck. There was a shining device with a blue stone; just like the one Danté had broken. "I took a little trip back to the Pokémon Doc and had a new one fitted! Néo's back and cooking with gas, as humans say."  
  
"Imagine that," said Selkirk, "the most powerful creature of all time and we're gonna rescue him!"  
  
"Yeah, so lets think of a way to get him out of there without running into Danté or Giovanni." Said Avista. So they began to think.  
  
"One of us should be a lookout," said Selkirk, "I'm fast, so I'll be able to lead any threatening scientists away if they see me."  
  
"Avista and I will go to find Mewtwo. She can look and I'll be on guard at the door of the lab he's in, or paralyse some scientists if they attack us."  
  
"Ok, let's go," said Avista. They left Selkirk outside watching the buildings and keeping an eye on Giovanni's office.  
  
Giovanni sighed. He was getting impatient, but the brain washing machine would take a couple of hours to fully warm up. Mewtwo was still sleeping in his tube and was a bit boring to watch after a while, so Giovanni called a assistant scientist in and told her to go and get something for him to eat, preferably something Italian.  
  
Néo and Avista ducked into a room as a woman rushed by with a tray of food.  
  
~Mmmmm, spaghetti!~ drooled Néo, sniffing in the direction of the tray of food.  
  
~We're not here to eat spaghetti, we're here to find Mewtwo! Come on!~ growled Avista, grabbing his arm and rushing them down the corridor in the opposite direction to the woman with the food. They banged straight into a couple of scientists with some body parts. Néo ducked as a brain flew past his head, while Avista paralysed the scientists and knocked them out, thinking for once.  
  
They carried on down the corridor and found a door leading to a laboratory. Néo stood watch, whilst Avista looked around the lab. It was the lab she'd been in earlier. This time, however, there were scientists in it. She did a well-aimed psychic attack on them and knocked them out. Looking around, she saw the Lugitwo in her tube and the beaten up Mewtwo, sleeping in the corner. Avista went over to the Lugitwo and went to free her from the tube.  
  
~No, leave me here. Take your friend.~ she said, telepathically, pointing to Nightmare, still out cold in his cage.  
  
~Don't you want to be free?~ asked Avista.  
  
~Yes, but I would be going against my purpose to be 100% obedient to the humans. That was what I was created for and what I shall do. I'm sorry, dear. Take your friend and get out before the scientists come to.~ Avista looked sadly at the Lugitwo for a minute, then turned and went over to Nightmare's cage. She put her hand through the bars and shook him. She made him jump and his eyes shot open.  
  
He grabbed her arm and held it firmly. "Leave me alone, human scum!" he growled, hoarsely. Then he saw who it was. He let go of her arm. "I'm sorry, I." he went into a fit of coughing. "The drugs they gave me," he said when he'd managed to stop, "they don't agree with me."  
  
"Right now, we've got to get you out." Said Avista and examined the cage.  
  
"You came back?.for me?" asked Nightmare.  
  
"We didn't know you'd been caught, we came back for Mewtwo. Giovanni managed to capture him," replied Avista.  
  
~Hey, you won't be able to open that without the key. The scientist in charge of the cages keeps them over there.~ said the Lugitwo, pointing. Avista thanked her and went over to a bunch of keys on a shelf away from the cages. She took them back and began to try each one in the lock.  
  
The fifth one she tried worked.The cage door swung open and Nightmare leaped out.  
  
"Boy, is it good to be free!" he said. They said goodbye to the Lugitwo and crept out.  
  
~I saw one scientist walk past, but that was it. Hey, what's Nightmare doing here?~ asked Néo, who'd been on guard by the door.  
  
~They caught him with the Lugitwo. She's staying behind though~ replied Avista. Nightmare coughed loudly. ~Néo, take Nightmare and get out of here, he'll give us away with his coughing. I'll carry on looking for Mewtwo and call you if I'm in trouble~ said Avista.  
  
~You sure you'll be Ok?~ asked Néo.  
  
~Yes, I was created here, wasn't I? I've escaped once, I can do it again, now go!~ Avista watched as Nightmare and Néo flew down the corridor, back the way she and Néo had come. In truth, she was scared stiff, but she reminded herself to remember the training she'd been through with Mewtwo.  
  
She carried on down the corridor until she came to a room with "Biotikk#22" on the door. Maybe Biotikk#22 was the name they'd given Mewtwo. Slowly and cautiously, she went in. She was surprised by what she saw within. A TV, couch, radiator, carpets, mirrors, windows, curtains. Someone definitely lived in this room. Maybe it was where Giovanni lived. Then she remembered Giovanni's quarters were quite a way away from the labs.  
  
She turned to go, feeling that she was being nosy and also feeling afraid of the presence of great power within the room.  
  
~Where are you off to?~ asked a psychic voice and a hand was placed on her shoulder. Spinning round, Avista came face to face with Danté. He grinned at her. Avista shuddered. She'd never seen his evil, sharp teeth this close. They looked as though they'd cut through sheer steel. ~What? Haven't you ever been this close to the most powerful creature on earth before?~ he smirked.  
  
"I've just never been this close to the biggest creep on earth before." Shot back Avista. Danté looked hurt and Avista couldn't make out whether he was faking it or not.  
  
~Well, you certainly fight well when your friends are in trouble. I guess you've come to rescue the Mewtwo.~  
  
"Yes, and you can't stop me." Said Avista defensively.  
  
~But if I let you go, my Master wouldn't be very happy. I'll save him the job of getting the other humans to capture you if I do it myself.~  
  
"Your Master," sneered Avista. "At least you've got that right. And you're his slave."  
  
~I am NOT!~ snarled Danté. ~We're equals, he is my friend.~  
  
"Danté, Giovanni is no one's friend. He captures Pokémon and mistreats them. He turned you against your own species with no real purpose for fighting them. He does awful experiments on his clones, that poor Mewtwo chained up in the lab, for example."  
  
~The Mewtwo was made like that. It was deformed from birth. It was an accident. The scientists never did that.~  
  
"No, that's what they want you to think. The specimen in the lab turned against the scientists, so they punished him. He did it again, so they punished him worse and experimented on him, as a warning to the other clones of what would happen to them if they stepped out of place."  
  
~NO! YOU'RE LYING!~ yelled Danté, grabbing Avista and shaking her violently. ~You just want to turn me against Giovanni, so you can get me to kill him with you~  
  
"No, that's not it," gasped Avista, choking a little at the grip Danté had round her neck. "I was warning you. I too was created here, but I escaped. I was created for the purpose of robbing banks. The reason I ran away was because I over heard Giovanni saying that once my job was done, he'd destroy me. Now he's caught Mewtwo, he has no further use for you. He'll dispose of you. Mewtwo's more powerful than you are. I'm not exaggerating. You think you are more powerful because you have an advantage over him. Truth is, you'll never be as powerful as Mewtwo. Nothing is and once Giovanni has him under his control, Giovanni will have that power."  
  
Danté let go of her. ~It isn't true. Giovanni would never do that to me. We're partners and when he rules the world, I will be at his right hand.~ he said.  
  
"Believe what you want. You will be your own undoing if you carry on believing in him."With that, Avista left, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Danté stood, thinking for a while. Then he shook his head and turned away.  
  
Avista carried on down the hall and around the corner, feeling relieved that Danté hadn't killed her back there. ~this is useless~ she thought, ~I'll never find him in this laberinth.~ She ducked away as a scientist walked past and began to think of an easier way to find Mewtwo.  
  
Suddenly, she remembered the feeling of power in Danté's quarters. If she used her powers to sense Mewtwo's psychic power, she might find him. She just hoped she wasn't too late.  
  
Outside, Néo and Nightmare had made it and were sitting a small way away under a tree. Nightmare was still coughing violently.  
  
"What happened to you?" asked Néo.  
  
"They gave me some sedatives and they don't agree with me" replied Nightmare, hoarsely. Néo looked in the direction of the labs. He could see the distant form of Selkirk on patrol outside.  
  
~I hope Avista's alright~ he thought to himself.  
  
Avista had finally locked on to Mewtwo's faint psychic powers. She followed them and came to a small lab. Going through the door, a whole bunch of scientists gasped and came at her. She released an attack that knocked them all out, then looked around for Mewtwo. Her eyes came to rest on a large tube. In it, Mewtwo was curled in a foetal position with wires attached to his body. Beside the tube, there was a whirring machine. The Psychic Suppresser.  
  
Avista put her hands on the tube and leapt back in shock. It was electrified for protection. She looked around. She had to somehow wake Mewtwo up without touching the tube. There were several tables in the room and one had some test tubes on. Avista picked up one of these and threw it at Mewtwo's tube. It hit it and smashed, but Mewtwo didn't stir. Avista had to find some other way to wake him up.  
  
Suddenly, she remembered her powers. She didn't know if it would work, but she focused really hard in her mind, telling Mewtwo to wake up. Nothing. She tried some more, standing in front of the tube and concentrating her hardest. Mewtwo began to stir. Avista focused her whole mind on waking Mewtwo up. Slowly, Mewtwo's eyes opened and he looked at her.  
  
"Mewtwo!" yelled Avista, joyously. Mewtwo was too weak to speak in his mind and Avista couldn't hear him through the glass, so he pointed at the Psychic Suppresser and made smashing motions with his hands. Avista understood and did a destruction beam attack on it. Sparks flew from it and it exploded with a huge bang. The wires released Mewtwo and he crouched in the bottom of the tube.  
  
Suddenly an alarm started sounding and all the lights in the room flashed red. Avista looked round, panicked. There was no where, she could possibly hide and besides, even if she did, the scientists would still find Mewtwo regenerating himself in the tube. Avista ran up to the tube and looked in at Mewtwo. He was crouching with his eyes closed, a faint aura surrounding him.  
  
~Hurry up~ thought Avista. Mewtwo continued to regenerate himself.  
  
Suddenly, the door flew open and ten armed guards leapt in, followed closely by Giovanni and Danté. He guards started shooting at Avista, but once Giovanni saw it was only her, he called them off.  
  
"Come to rescue our friend, have we?" he asked Avista, mockingly, as if he knew she wouldn't succeed.  
  
"What, did you think I wouldn't?" countered Avista.  
  
"I thought you'd have more intelligence than that, seeing as you are a Mewtwo and to come back here would mean you get killed. Did you really think Mewtwo's enclosure wouldn't be alarmed?" Avista simply stood in the middle of the lab, trying to stare Giovanni down and buy some time for Mewtwo to regenerate more. Giovanni seemed awfully smug for someone who'd just had their energy draining machine destroyed and a large possibility of losing the most powerful creature in the world after taking so long to catch it. He didn't seem worried about this, however. Maybe having Danté around had made him over confident. "Well, you'd better say goodbye to your friend while you can still breathe" smirked Giovanni. He motioned to Danté, who leapt between him and Avista, snarling.  
  
"Not you again. I thought since Giovanni thinks he's so big, he'd do his own dirty work." grinned Avista. Danté's eyes glowed green and he picked Avista up in his psychic powers. He used his powers to constrict her. Avista closed her eyes tight, trying to breathe, trying to fight the pain that spread through her body like hot lava. Danté threw her down roughly and she skidded across the floor, upsetting a table of glass containers. She hit the wall with a thud and lay still. Danté stepped up to her, raised his arm and prepared to deliver the final, killing blow to her body. Slowly, she opened her eyes and weakly looked up at him.  
  
He stared down at her with a twisted grin on his face and his hand started glowing with dark/psychic power. Avista closed her eyes and tensed herself for the attack that would end her life. It was over. She'd tried to rescue Mewtwo and died doing it. Why had she bothered? She'd never see him or any of her friends again. Danté was powering up for an attack so powerful, even regeneration wouldn't work afterwards.  
  
She prepared herself for the attack to hit her.  
  
Nothing happened, but she heard a huge crash and the sound of glass shattering. She opened her eyes. The tube Mewtwo had been in had been blown to bits. So that was his plan. Danté was planning to finish Mewtwo off. The power must've gone to his head. Mewtwo was no longer on the tube's platform either. The attack must have been so strong; it blew him up completely or disintegrated him. Avista felt something. A hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and gasped.  
  
It was Mewtwo! He'd survived the attack.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked gently.  
  
"Yes" cried Avista and threw her arms round him in joy.  
  
~You were right~ said a voice. Danté.  
  
"Huh?" asked Avista, turning to him.  
  
~Giovanni is a creep and a lier~ He turned to Giovanni, who stepped back.  
  
"Danté, what are you saying? What have these creatures been telling you?" stuttered Giovanni.  
  
~It's what you haven't been telling me that I'm so angry about. I overheard a little conversation you where having with the chief scientist about destroying me when you've brainwashed Mewtwo. Some friend you are. I trusted you, Master. Now I know I was wrong and Avista was right. She warned me about you and what you were like. I didn't want to believe her, but something inside me still puzzled over it. If I hadn't have heard that conversation you were having, I would be meeting my doom tomorrow.~ Giovanni shrank back behind the armed guards.  
  
"But why did you release Mewtwo?" asked Avista.  
  
~Because the tube he was in was reinforced glass, not even using his powers would he have been able to break it from inside, only outside. Besides, I will enjoy watching him get revenge on my Master.~ He turned to Giovanni. ~As from now, I no longer belong to you!~ and he turned his back on him with a disrespectful flick of his tail.  
  
Mewtwo stepped forward and Avista stood up. "Time for some fun!" smirked Mewtwo.  
  
"DESTROY THEM!" yelled Giovanni to the armed guards.  
  
But the armed guards were already halfway down the corridor, fleeing for their lives.  
  
Mewtwo's eyes glowed bright blue and Giovanni was thrown into the air. Mewtwo turned his head and Giovanni went crashing into the remains of Mewtwo's tube, the broken glass gashing his clothes. Mewtwo's hand glowed and he picked the human up in his psychic powers. With an evil smirk, Mewtwo swung his arm towards the window. The helpless Giovanni followed, crashing through the window. He landed on the grass outside. Mewtwo followed, like a predator moving in for the kill. Giovanni's body lay motionless on the grass, but he was still breathing. Mewtwo picked him up in his psychic powers again.  
  
"I want to hear you scream in pain pathetic human!" snarled Mewtwo and clenched his fist, blocking off Giovanni's air supply and making him choke. Then he sent a psychic attack that made Giovanni's whole body seethe with pain. Giovanni screamed in agony and blood started coming up from his mouth. Mewtwo dropped him as though he were nothing more than a piece of garbage. He lay on the ground, coughing up blood.  
  
"This is the torture, you put me through, except because my body is stronger than yours, I could take the pain." Growled Mewtwo. Giovanni panted, coughing up less blood. He looked up at Mewtwo in fear. The creature he had funded the creation of, the creature that was going to be his servant and help him rule the world was now the last thing he'd see.  
  
Mewtwo gave him a disgusted look. "You are not even worth me spitting on" he said with a snarl and shot out a psychic attack that ripped Giovanni's body apart. When the dust had settled, the remains of the hapless Giovanni weren't even recognisable as human. Mewtwo threw back his head and gave a triumphant cry. Then he flew around in the air making victory attacks.  
  
Avista and Danté had been standing at the broken window watching Mewtwo's revenge on Giovanni. Now they flew out to Mewtwo.  
  
Avista sent a mental message to Néo, Selkirk and Nightmare.  
  
~Giovanni's dead.~  
  
The other three soon saw Mewtwo flying around in the sky doing victory somersaults. They flew down to the ground and turned to Avista.  
  
Suddenly Selkirk yelled "Avista! Danté's here, run!"  
  
"Don't worry, he discovered the errors of his ways" said Avista.  
  
Selkirk flew up to her and nuzzled her. "I'm glad you're Ok. You're a real hero!" he said. Avista hugged him.  
  
"Thanks" she replied.  
  
Mewtwo flew down and landed beside them. "Thank you for rescuing me" he said to Avista. Avista looked a little sad.  
  
"Yeah" she said simply. Avista had seen all that had happened. All that Mewtwo had done to Giovanni before he'd killed him and she wasn't very keen on hugging Mewtwo right now. Giovanni had been a bad person and deserved to die, but Mewtwo was doing just what Giovanni had done, torturing him like that before disposing of him.  
  
She looked away, sadly. "I'm sorry, Mewtwo. My job here is done."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I helped you escape. Now I must go and find a life for myself and you must carry on with yours. Thank you for training me. I really appreciate it. I owed you for helping me and I repaid you." She looked down sadly.  
  
"You don't have to go" said Mewtwo, gently. "You were the first friend I ever met and I'll miss you badly. Please stay with me."  
  
"I'm sorry" said Avista and flew into the air. "I'll miss all of you."  
  
"Bye!" yelled Néo, "don't forget to write sometime, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," cried Avista, grinning.  
  
~Thank you for showing me what was right~ Said Danté.  
  
Avista smiled.  
  
"Bye" yelled Nightmare.  
  
"See ya!" called back Avista.  
  
Selkirk flew up to her and hugged her. "Good luck" he said. "I hope you find yourself a mate."  
  
Avista nuzzled him. "Goodbye, Selkirk" she said, "I hope you find yourself a mate too. I'm sure there's someone out there who'll love you like your old mate."  
  
Selkirk nodded. He didn't feel like telling her he'd planned for her to be his mate now. He could sense she wanted to find a new life for herself, away from humans and big Mewtwo battles. She flew up, waving to them, turned and didn't look back. If she did, she'd surely cry.  
  
A couple of months later, Mewtwo sat on the roof of the house he, Néo and Avista had once shared. He often thought about her, but now he had other things on his mind.  
  
He and Néo were now in the Pokémon battle dome tournaments, pitting themselves against rival trainers and their Pokémon for training purposes. What really surprised Mewtwo was that he enjoyed it and it also helped to keep his body in top fighting condition. He sat on the roof, thinking about the next tournament, which would start in about ten minutes.  
  
Néo was getting ready and Mewtwo was waiting for him. Néo was always late preparing himself for a tourney. Soon, however, he rushed out.  
  
"Coming?" he yelled.  
  
"Let's go" said Mewtwo rolling his eyes at Néo's "brilliant" punctuality.  
  
Selkirk had found himself a mate. A beautiful yellow Mewtwo with a cream belly and tail and deep green eyes. They were very happy together.  
  
Danté had decided to turn himself in to the police force because in his mind, he wanted to somehow help all those he'd helped Giovanni take from. He became one of the forces top Pokémon at catching criminals and eventually worked in charge of a team of Houndoom.  
  
Avista settled down in a small house by the sea. It was near a large forest and some interesting caves. She too, found herself a mate named Rei and they lived together in the little house. Rei was a pure white Mewtwo with a pale blue tail and deep blue eyes. Avista still drank loads of Dr Pepper and ate loads of chocolate, but she was happy to be away from raging battles and nasty humans, living a peaceful life with Rei. 


End file.
